Joe Badu-Ansah
THE GOVERNMENT of Ghana does not have a choice in the type of media it deals with says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effia-Kwesimintsim in the Western region.
“They do not have the option to choose a forum, they should deal with the entire media forum in the country because Ghanaians are listening to all these fora,” he told DAILY GUIDE in reaction to the Atta Mills government’s recent decision to boycott the most popular media platform- the Multimedia Group over what it described as its “unfair coverage” of government activities.
According to Joe Baidoe-Ansah, “What they did smacks of arrogance of power and it is a threat to democracy and accountability.”
“For a government which taxpayers pay they have a contract with us to be accountable to us, however, they have arrogated to themselves the power to decide what forum to be accountable to,” he said.
Government’s decision is a direct infringement on the right to information of all the patrons of the media platforms owned by the Multimedia Group, he says.
The Multimedia Group owns a complete range of electronic platforms including television, radio and online broadcasts. The group owns the popular: Joy Fm, Adom Fm, Nhyira Fm, Myjoyonline, Luv Fm, Hit radio and Multi TV.
“With this action, they have broken the contract they have with this country, it is a broken principle of democracy and it is not fair to the people they are serving,” he said. “What they are doing is not part of the expectations of the constitution. The constitution does not expect the boycott of the media.”
Mr. Baidoe-Ansah is not the only one who has come down strongly on the NDC government for proscribing the Multimedia group; several groups within and outside the NDC government have strongly criticised the high-handed decision.
Nana Akomea, the NPP Communications Director has been quoted as saying the directive is in contravention of the 1992 Constitution and that it is worth contesting.
The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana explicitly states, “Editors and publishers of newspapers and other institutions of the mass media shall not be subject to control or interference by government, nor shall they be penalized or harassed for their editorial opinions and views, or the content of their publications.”
By Raphael Adeniran
