The President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Affail Monney, has bemoaned the incessant attacks on Journalists in the country.
According to Mr. Monney, even though Journalists may err in their line of duty, it does not give anyone the right to attack them.
“As human as we are, we are prone to faulter, but this does not give anyone the audacity or impunity to attack Journalists in the line of duty,” he said at a ceremony to mark World Press Freedom Day in Accra.
The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press.
It is also to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Monney noted that media practitioners occupy the lowest echelon of public popularity due to “the reality of their job to blow the whistle on perceived or real acts of corruption, expose public dark spots and hold people in positions of power and responsibility to account.”
Meanwhile, a Deputy Minister for Information and Media Relations, Felix Kwakye-Ofosu encouraged Journalists to take centre stage in the fight against corruption.
According to him, Journalists must ensure public and political office holders “act in a manner that is consistent with the aspirations. Go beyond just sharing the light on corruption…
It is okay to expose corruption, it’s oaky to after corrupt public officials but it’s also important that we highlight what those officials are doing with the resources that have been invested in them…that way I think we will be doing grater good.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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