Deputy minister of information, Mr. Pius Enam Hadzide, has charged journalists to ensure that they work professionally especially in times like elections in order to maintain peace in the country.
He said this would go a long way to foster the kind of participatory democracy we practice here in Ghana which encourages the need to “Jaw-Jaw” and not “War-War”.
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“For a political party that prides itself with the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law, the passage of the Whistle Blower Act and the recent passage of the RTI law; the NPP government welcomes constructive criticism but also encourages the media to choose optimism over extreme negativity and pessimism. Thereby, pay attention to the several benefits of the various interventions and programmes of government..” he said
Speaking at the launch of Media Generale’s Election Command Center for election 2020 on behalf of government and the Minister for Information, Tuesday, he said election and election related reportage is important to every election and needs to be done in a responsible way to avoid violence adding the state will follow suit with Media Generale’s example of the Election Command Center through bodies the daily graphic and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation who were present.
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Mr. Enam Hadzide reiterated the ruling government’s commitment to the creation and maintenance of a an enabling environment safe for the practice of journalism saying the government is “media friendly” and accommodates the media in all of their dealings. He said “Government remains committed to the creation and maintenance of an environment conducive to the practice of safe and responsible journalism” adding that the ministry of information “continues to work towards the realization of a national coordinated mechanism on the safety of journalists”.
He charged all journalists to make it a point to report responsibly saying news men must watch how they report and avoid sensationalist accounts of issues that happen as they are a threat to peace. He further called for coordinated efforts between bodies that like the Electoral commission,Inter-Party Advisory Committee, Information Services Department, National Commission for Civic Education and others who are involved in activities of elections in the country.
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Hon. Hadzide also believes that Media Generale’s Election Command Center has also come in handy for the dissemination of information concerning the impending compilation of the new voters register to be conducted later this year by the Electoral Commission whiles pledging to ensure peace in the country before, during and after the 2020 elections.
