In a petition to Mr. Freddie Blay and copied to the IGP, MFWA urged the party to formally condemn the incident, apologize to the victims and punish the perpetrators.

Three journalists, including Citi FM’s Marie-Franz Fordjoe, and two others from TV3 and Ghanaweb, were assaulted by security guards at the NPP’s headquarters when they were covering a demonstration by some angry party members on December 21, 2017.

Following up on hints of an ongoing protest at the party’s national headquarters in Accra, the reporters headed there.

[contextly_sidebar id=”kxEwZO9IfP9PlB9jnkeeLPzWtUygPgkp”]Upon their arrival, scores of the party’s members, numbering about 200 from the Ellembelle Constituency in the Western Region, had besieged the headquarters demanding a clean register ahead of the party’s internal elections in January 2018.

Whilst filming the happenings, they were attacked by about six well-built men who are security guards at the party’s head office.

GhanaWeb’s cameraman was slapped, thrown on the ground and kicked mercilessly by the ‘macho’ men.

When the issue was reported to the NPP Deputy General Secretary, Sam Payne upon his arrival at the scene, he retorted that, “no one asked him [the reporter] to come and film” and walked away.

The party is however yet to condemn or take action on the attack several weeks after the incident.

The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Suleman Briamah, in the petition expressed disappointment with the leadership of the NPP for being silent over the issue.

“We are dismayed at the fact that despite these calls, your outfit has still not reacted to the wanton assault on the four journalists, 32 days after the incident. We consider this attitude to be unbecoming of the NPP which is one of the biggest political parties in Ghana and the ruling party.”

“It is important to note that the General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, has recently condemned the attack on a member of the party, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, whereas no single word has been said about the attack on the journalists which happened much earlier. We are therefore petitioning you directly as the party’s leader to use your good offices to ensure that the party formally condemns the incident, renders apologies to the victims and punishes the perpetrators,” the petition added.

The MFWA further called on the party to take steps “to stump out the growing culture of impunity among the party’s supporters since its return to power in January 2017.”

Arrest NPP security men for attacking journalists – GJA

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) had earlier called on the leadership of the NPP to ensure that the culprits are brought to book.

The GJA, in a statement, vehemently condemned the attack and called for immediate action.

“We call on the leadership of the NPP to bring the culprits to book to demonstrate abhorrence of such dastardly act. The GJA expects that the NPP, as the ruling party and political tradition founded on the tenets of democracy, will whip its supporters into towing that philosophical line,” the statement added.

Below is the full petition from MFWA:

The National Chairman

New Patriotic Party

National Headquarters

Accra

Dear Sir,

Petition against Physical Assault on Journalists by Party Security Officers

On December 21, 2017, four journalists were physically attacked by some security officers manning your party’s Headquarters in Accra.

The four journalists from TV3, Citi FM and Ghanaweb.com were brutalised by the security guards for covering a protest at the premises of your party headquarters by some supporters of your party from the Ellembelle Constituency of the Western Region.

While filming the scene, TV3 cameraman, Godfred Tanam was slapped by the rampaging guards. Prince Afum, a TV3 reporter, was also attacked when he went to the aid of his colleague, Tanam. Ghanaweb.com reporter, Ebenezer Ackah was kicked on the ground after being slapped and violently pushed down. A reporter from Citi FM, Marie-Franz Fordjoe, who was filming the scene with her mobile phone, was pulled away by her braids and slapped in the face by the guards.

The attack was widely reported by the media and condemned by various individuals and organisations including MFWA and the GJA who called on the leadership of your party to take action against the perpetrators.

We are dismayed at the fact that despite these calls, your outfit has still not reacted to the wanton assault on the four journalists, 32 days after the incident. We consider this attitude to be unbecoming of the NPP which is one of the biggest political parties in Ghana and the ruling party.

It is important to note that the General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, has recently condemned the attack on a member of the party, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, whereas no single word has been said about the attack on the journalists which happened much earlier.

We are therefore petitioning you directly as the party’s leader to use your good offices to ensure that the party formally condemns the incident, renders apologies to the victims and punishes the perpetrators.

We wish to take the opportunity to urge you and the NPP leadership as a whole to take steps to stump out the growing culture of impunity among the party’s supporters since its return to power in January 2017.

In his recent encounter with the media, the President said that vigilantism has no party colours and asked the Police to deal with the menace. We have put the Inspector General of Police in copy of this petition, believing that his outfit will act, without prejudice to whatever action your leadership will take, to ensure that the assailants of the journalists are arrested to face the law.

We are hopeful that you would respond favourably to this petition.

Yours sincerely,

Sulemana Braimah

(Executive Director)

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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Commonly referred to as “Presidential Media Encounter,” the event is the second since the President assumed office on January 7, 2017. The first media encounter was held in July 2017.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sees the exercise as an important initiative that helps to deepen the culture of democratic governance in Ghana. The event serves as a platform that allows the President to account to the people on his stewardship. We therefore commend the President and the government for following the footsteps of predecessor governments as far as the regular media encounters are concerned.

In order to help guide post-event reflections on the usefulness of the event and to provide useful insights for future events, the MFWA presents its perspectives of today’s media encounter. The analysis assesses the overall arrangement and format of the event, quality of the questions that were asked, the quality of the President’s responses to the questions and makes some recommendations for future encounters.

Thus, this document is presented with the following sections: format of the event; quality of questions asked; critical missing pieces, the President’s performance and recommendations.

Format of the Event

The event was generally well organised. The President was well composed, articulate and created an atmosphere of conviviality throughout the event. The President’s introductory address was, however, too long and tended to focus nearly exclusively on the achievements of the government with almost no focus on failures, missed targets and challenges.

The procedure on selecting those to ask questions could have been better coordinated right from the beginning. For example, an expectation was created that there would be an opportunity for journalists from each of the regions to ask a question but it did not turn out so. However, the effort to ensure gender balance in the filing of questions is commendable.

Quality of Questions Asked

A total of 20 journalists asked questions on various issues and sectors. These questions were analysed and this report presents the MFWA’s perspectives on some of the best and worst questions. Analyses of the quality of questions were based on basic principles of good questioning such as: relevance of the question; whether a question was a leading question; whether the question had good background and contextualisation; the clarity of the question and whether a question made references to data, facts and illustration. Using these principles, some questions were found to be really good while others were judged to be poor.

The following three questions were found to be the best of the day:

1. “I take it that given the size of the economy you couldn’t have addressed all issues in your opening statement and so I take it that the issues you raised are on your priority list. However, there is one issue that I find not addressed in your address, which I think without it can bring every plan of yours to nought. It’s the issue of security. In 2014, a young man known as Alema was alleged to have joined ISIS. In fact, his family confirmed that story. In 2016, security experts revealed on GBC 24; in fact they showed us evidence of how some members of ISIS were getting in touch with some young Ghanaians. Just a couple of days ago, the Ghanaian police arrested some persons with seven grenades. You didn’t address that. Mr President, how safe are Ghanaians under your watch?” – Abdul Hayi-Moomen – GBC

The question was relevant and purposeful. The questioner provided useful background and context. It wasn’t framed in a close-ended way and asked with clarity.

2. “I would like to find out how you could have come to the conclusion that the Ministry of Trade has been cleared of the extortion allegations that were made – frivolous or otherwise – when indeed the parliamentary committee has just began its work. What is the basis of your conviction that the Ministry has been cleared of the allegations?” – Kwesi Pratt – The Insight Newspaper

This was a very useful follow-up after the President had sought to dismiss the usefulness of the on-going bipartisan parliamentary enquiry on the issue of “cash for seats.” The question was clear and precise.

3. “I remember the vice President said and has said so many times that we are building a modern formal economy premised on National ID, Digital Address and mobile payment interoperability; and in February 2017 in your State of Nation address, you said and I quote the process for a comprehensive National ID System and the property titling system will be completed this year. When we met here in July 2017, you repeated the National Identification scheme will be working by the end of the year as promised and the digital address system will be functioning; end of quote. So two weeks into January, what is the state of the National ID and the mobile payment interoperability system?” – Bernard Avle, Citi FM

The questioner provided good background and context including quotes. It was a question that probed the delivery of the government on key promises and its failure to meet publicly announced deadlines.

The following were found to be the worst questions asked:

1. “We are in the 25th year of the 4th republic and 2012/2013, you led the NPP to the Supreme Court, the petition, I will like to find out whether the live coverage, the outcome and the immediate consensus or acceptance of the ruling is a major hallmark of the 25th anniversary of the 4th republic” – Gordon Asare Bediako, TheNew Crusading Guide.

By far, this was the worst question of the day. It lacked relevance and context.

2. “My question is, something unprecedented happened in Ghana here, that is during your first year, that is the coming in of visitors mostly Presidents. Classical example was the Emir of Qatar, President Macron and all those people coming in. In your view Mr. President, what do you think accounted for their interest in coming into Ghana, especially in your first year” – Naana Ntiri, Peace FM

While there may have been a number of foreign dignitaries coming in at the same time it cannot be described as an unprecedented phenomenon. It appears to be a question that sought to provide an opportunity for the President to tout the achievement of his administration.

3. “Mr President, there is this school of thought that believe that incumbency is advantaged, disadvantaged sorry its disadvantaged and I want to have your view on that” – Prince Godfred Obeng, Ark FM

The question was not clear. It lacked purpose and relevance as no context was provided.

4. “Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity and I want to commend the hard work that you have put in galamsey fight because it has really yielded results. Mr. President, my question and I want to refer to the question on Ghana beyond aid. Because we don’t know or we don’t have a vision of where Ghana wants to be in the long term, when policies are introduced by political parties a lot of questions are raised about them, all the sectors have their own plans but we don’t have a vision as to where they rise to. The US President has made very derogatory comments about us, people were up in arms but I must say it’s rather a painful truth because of the way we do our things. Mr. President the question I want to ask is when are we having a national plan?” – Annie Ampofo, Group Nduom Media.

The background to the question lacked focus and what ultimately was the question was factually incorrect because Ghana has a development plan as was alluded to by the President in his response.

Other Observations:

The question on the menace of vigilante groups asked by Eyram Bashan of EIB Network was a question on a relevant issue. The value of the question was however undermined by the questioner’s reference to the weak capacity of the security agencies to deal with the issue. The President in his response then makes reference to the weak capacity as cited by the journalists as part of the challenges in dealing with the menace.

Kojo Yankson asked a question about the justification for the appointment of 110 Ministers and whether or not it was time for the President to reduce the number. Given that it was one of the issues that the President had already addressed in his introductory remarks, that question had become redundant.

Other Critical Issues that were missed

• Free SHS blueprint and the sustainability of the initiative
• The delay in the passage of the RTI despite promises and deadlines
• Health – increasing prevalence of HIV infections; recent health challenges in second cycle institutions; state of National Health Insurance
• The Digitisation of institutions and services versus challenges of cyber security

The President’s Performance

 Overall, the President was composed and demonstrated knowledge on many of the issues around which questions were raised. In cases where the President did not have an idea or could not respond to a question, he demonstrated honesty. For example, he made it clear that the 2014 World Cup Committee White Paper was not on his radar. He also admitted the inability of his administration to meet the deadlines on the issuance of the National ID and the rollout of the mobile interoperability system. In some instances, he relied on his sector ministers to deal with specific questions relating to specific sectors, which we deem a good strategy.

The low points on the President’s performance were on his responses to the question on vigilantism. For example, the President’s reference to how overwhelmed the security agencies are in dealing with the problem of vigilante groups cannot be justified. Indeed, the problem is one of lack of political will and not limited capacity on the part of the security agencies to deal with the problem.

The worst moment in the president’s responses was his attempt to discount or dismiss the on-going bi-partisan investigations into what has become known as the “cash for seat” saga. Indeed, the President’s comment devalues the on-going work of the bi-partisan committee. This is especially so because the President in his introductory remarks took pride in the fact that under the first year of his administration, a number of bi-partisan investigative committees have been set up to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

Recommendations for Future Encounters

• Journalists should prepare adequately and have questions that have been well researched with proper background and context.
• Journalists should endeavour to ask follow-up questions when earlier questions by others have not been answered satisfactorily.
• More time should be allocated for questions in future encounters.

–

Source: MFWA

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The Director-General of the GBC, Dr. Akuffo Annor-Ntow earlier noted to Citi News that collection of TV licenses will extend to persons who consume Television content via mobile devices and applications.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ay34nY3yxA7We5is0VAW8Ivi71DD4bWB”]He explained that the TV license is to cover content and not the ownership of TV sets despite a contradictory notice from GBC itself.

The TV licensing Act 1966 (NLCD 89) also notes that “except in such circumstances as may be prescribed, no person shall install or use any television receiving set unless there is in existence in relation to that set a valid licence granted by the licensing authority under this Decree, and to be known as a television receiving set licence.”

The Act defines a “television receiving set” as “an apparatus constructed solely for the reception of pictures (with or without sound) transmitted by radio.

But Mr. Braimah is of the view that the GBC boss spoke in such terms because of the ongoing digital migration being executed by K-Net Limited for the roll-out of the country’s Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) network project.

“It may not be the position of the law but in practice, because of the digital migration process and the digital migration policy that was developed, it gives GBC that mandate to be the distributor of signals and to that extent, you would say that we do have a lot of content producers, but if the digital migration policy remains as it was captured, it would mean that GBC will be laying a very central role,” he explained.

“Almost every signal will be transmitted through GBC’s facilities and to that extent, it will have the capacity to tap into all these platforms that will be used for transmitting or for broadcasting television content and I think that is the basis for his argument,” Mr. Braimah added.

“We may have a lot of platforms for broadcasting television signals, but when it comes to the signal distribution, GBC will play a central role and to that extent, it will have the mechanisms to be able to ensure that resources are mobilized from different sources despite the different platforms we have for broadcasting content.”

Background

Concerns with TV licensing emerged after the setting up of the special court to prosecute defaulting TV owners or operators per Section 1(a) of the TV licensing Act 1966 (NLCD 89).

GBC officially reintroduced the collection of the TV Licence fees in 2015 after years of putting it on hold due to non-payments.

Domestic TV users are to pay between GH¢36 and GH¢60 for one or more TV sets in a household while TV set repairers and sales outlets are to pay an annual sum of between GHc60 to GHc240.

Commercial TV operators are to pay GHc36 per annum for each TV set.

–

By: Caleb Kudah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking on Eyewitness News, he maintained the NCA would set a bad precedent, if it eases the pressure on the stations it has sanctioned.

[contextly_sidebar id=”K6ZvHm39j7zNPefmk3D6zlTAB3w5qqwa”]131 stations fell foul of Section 13 of the Electronics Communications Act (2009), and 34 of the sanctioned stations had their licenses revoked because their authorizations had expired, whilst the others picked up over GHc1 billion in fines.

Accra-based Okay FM and Kumasi-based Hello FM, both under the Despite group, were recently shut down by the NCA after their licenses were revoked.

The NCA’s crackdown would not have been viewed as extreme and out of the ordinary, if Ghana had a culture of enforcing laws to the letter, the MFWA Head suggested.

“The controversies that we are witnessing is all because the management and previous board of the NCA failed to do their work as they ought to have done at the time, and the current management and board are only acting in accordance with the law, and I think that it is something that we need to let them do.”

Despite the expected job losses that critics have complained about, Mr. Braimah said: “we cannot live in a country with airwaves which are not regulated… I don’t see how you can fault the NCA for seeking to just enforce the law and making sure that our airwaves are regulated properly.”

Beyond this, letting the sanctioned stations of the hook would send the wrong message to the remaining majority of stations complying with NCA regulations, he added.

“We have close to 500 radio stations that are on air, which means that a majority of those who are operating are complying with the law, so why must we then allow those who are not complying with the law to continue to operate,” he argued.

NCA can be given NPA leeway

There is an added layer of hypocrisy beneath all this, with Mr. Braimah pointing out that, the country is solidly behind the reforms and harsh steps put in place to sanitize the distribution of fuel in Ghana in light of recent disasters.

The National Petroleum Authority is working to roll out a cylinder re-circulation model, which some fear will leave many Liquefied Petroleum Gas stations out of business.

Nonetheless, the public is largely behind these reforms, so Mr. Braimah questioned, “why are we in this instance saying another institution shouldn’t enforce the laws and the work that it is paid to do, and the work that Parliament has mandated it to do.”

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifonline.com/Ghana

The post Don’t vilify NCA for doing its job – Sulemana Braimah appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“As much as it’s a law the NCA must revisit it… Indeed the NCA says if an entity fails to compel with the regulations the NCA is required to notify them, and the law says not less than thirty days for example” he said on Eyewitness News.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1Ywp4Tv8caY7jyBKopjP25jpMqrZlMpP”]“Why would the NCA sit down over the years, and in their own statement they indicated that some of these affected media organizations had actually failed to renew or pay whatever it is for as many as 17 years. So you ask yourself, all these years what the NCA was doing?”

He said the statement did not adequately distinguish between “what the reasons are for those that have been shut down, or those whose licenses have been revoked, and those for whom these heavy prices have been imposed.”

Mr. Braimah added that, this action by the NCA is clear that some media institutions are inefficient, and that the NCA wants to stop the operations of these media stations.

“I must say that it’s a very troubling development, particularly as this statement came on 28th September, a day set aside to mark Universal Access to Information Day. Having said that, I think the development also exposes the inefficiencies of our institutions and the non-compliance by institutions in this case media organizations for that matter”

“If you look at the figures, some have to pay as much as 60-something million Ghana cedis, it’s just as saying that we want to shut you down because there is no way radio stations in this country can afford that much. And even look at the electronic communications act for example, it talks about fees that have to be imposed for individual licenses,and must be such that they have to be compensated with the economic value of the licenses for which the fees are being imposed.”

Stations also at fault

Mr. Braimah further questioned the institutions involved for not playing their part as the licenses stated and suggested ways to resolve the issue.

“Why would you go for a license and fail to comply with the license conditions until such a time that these crippling sanctions are being imposed… There needs to be some dialogue, some consensus building to see how the matter can be resolved amicably.”

The NCA sanctioned some FM stations by revoking the licenses of 34 stations for operating illegally following the expiration of their licenses.

Owners of the radio stations sanctioned for operating with expired licenses as well as other offenses would have to cough up about GHc1.18 billion.

–

By: Ann-Shirly Ziwu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post NCA’s ‘unclear’ sanctions a troubling development – MFWA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Show details

This week, the show is recorded in Johannesburg.

Gary Al-Smith explores a preview of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs ahead of the Soweto Derby on Saturday. We hear from the Ghana FA and get the latest insight on the sad story of the 21-year-old ref who died in their lower divisions.

Kenyan journalist Jeff Kinyanjui complains about the continuous poor performances in African club events by their teams, veteran journalists Mark Gleeson, Thomas Kwenaite, Jeff Katala and Sizwe Mabena speak on the seeming love affair between Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah and his former boss Milovan Rajevac ahead of the World Cup.

Also Nigeria’s first German-born international Leon Balogun gives his his first interview for African radio. Plus British journalist Dominic Fifield of the Guardian has inside knowledge of the Samuel Eto’o v Jose Mourinho “age cheating” issue.

—

Presented by Gary Al-Smith and produced by Nathan Quao/Gary Al-Smith for Citi FM & Supersport.com.

Soundtrack details
Song Title: Someway Bi
Artist Name: M.anifest
Produced by: Yung Fly
Singitdamnit Music/Cumbancha Music Publishing (BMI) 2013

More detail: Twitter.com/FCAfrica or Facebook.com/FCAfricaRadio

Follow @FcAfrica

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