The Akufo-Addo government says though it acknowledges the caution not to compare 2021 and 2022 world press freedom rankings, it remains focused on building collaboration among stakeholders to improve Ghana’s rankings in the new model.
Publishers of the ranking announced they have employed a new methodology, which moved Ghana to 60th in the global ranking for 2022 cautioning against a year on year comparison.
The new methodology takes into account a quantitative survey of press freedom violations and abuses against journalists and media, and a qualitative study based on the responses of hundreds of press freedom experts selected by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), which includes journalists, academics and human rights defenders.
However, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, argues that the government acknowledges that a lot more needs to be done by stakeholders to ace Ghana’s rankings on the new model.
Contributors to Ghana’s new rank include attacks by Ada youth on radio Ada, arrests of people publishing fake news by the Police and manhandling of a Citi FM journalist at a National Security facility.
According to Mr Nkrumah, it is important to step up the country’s response by better educating state agencies and the public to relate better with journalists even when they disagree with their works.
Already, government has supported the National Media Commission (NMC) to establish an office for the Coordinated Mechanism on the Safety of Journalists. This, the Minister said, the newly created office needs more support and attention to succeed at its work.
Government through the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme (MCEP) is providing training for some 250 journalists on emerging issues in journalism. It forms part of collaborative efforts by stakeholders in the media industry like the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and media umbrella bodies to support the sector, which has been challenged in recent times.
Government is also collaborating with stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in deepening education for state and non-state actors on the safety of journalists. This is in addition to the numerous support government lends out to media associations including media owners to improve the working and economic conditions of journalists.
