Ghana will join the rest of the world to host the World Press Freedom Day on May 2 and 3 this year, to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom and to advance the cause of journalism.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MDGgGhXHAYsvMgXmUz0i6Ih6iMt90AaD”]According to the Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah, it is not too late for the government to pass the Bill, and passing the Bill will show the country’s commitment to the pursuit of democratic values.

“It will be embarrassing for us, if we host the World Press Freedom Day and we still do not have the RTI bill. It is quiet worrying that countries around us and countries in Africa, that we appear to be doing better than, who praise Ghana all the time, have gone ahead to have the Right to Information law in place,” he said.

He noted that it is quite sad that over the period 6 years, the number of countries that have passed the RTI Bill has increased from 6 to 21, but Ghana is not included.

“We can talk about our three neighbouring Togo, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and in West Africa, we can talk about Nigeria, Sierre Leone, Liberia, Niger, Guinea, all these countries ave RTI Bill in place,” he said.

The NPP government, in the build-up to the 2016 elections, promised to expedite the passage of the bill.

The Foundation’s Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah, wants the Akufo-Addo government to pass the bill before hosting the World Press Freedom Day this year.

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has promised that government will facilitate the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Bill this year.

He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is committed to enhancing accountability and dealing with corruption.

The Right to Information (RTI) Coalition,  hit the streets in September 2017,  to raise awareness on the need for the passage of bill.

The Right to Information (RTI) Coalition expressed disappointment in President Mahama’s leadership for failing to ensure the passage of the bill before he exited.

According to the Coalition, “President Mahama had not demonstrated strong commitment to the passage of the RTI Bill, despite his party’s promises in their 2008 and 2012 manifestos.”

Many advocates of free speech have criticized successive governments for their lack of interest in ensuring that the Bill is passed.

The bill, which has been in and out of Parliament for over a decade, is yet to be passed in spite of its potential of enhancing access to information in the country.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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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)

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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According to the Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, the President’s attempt to belittle the ongoing probe is very disappointing.

[contextly_sidebar id=”EI6jaU1TTqDotJoqtxPaqklS3LFsgK5E”]“The lowest point as far as the president’s performance is concerned, is his attempt to dismiss or dilute the ongoing bipartisan enquiry on the cash-for-seat probe, while there is a bipartisan committee interrogating or investigating the matter,” he said.

Speaking to Citi News, Sulemana Braimah said what the President said was hypocritical, because he had previously praised his administration for setting up bipartisan committees to probe cases of alleged corruption.

“In his own introduction, he has alluded to the fact that, in the first year of his administration, there have been a series of bipartisan enquiries and that was something he thought was positive because he said there was none in the previous regime. And if you say this and then later you try to almost rubbish what is going on, then we thought this particular one was not proper at all,” he said.

Although the bipartisan committee hearing allegations of corruption against the Trade Ministry is yet to complete its work and present its findings, President Akufo-Addo, who had already stated that there was no wrongdoing after he was briefed by the Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, repeated his conviction that there was no wrongdoing.

Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, has however defended President Akufo Addo’s comments on the matter saying the President did not wrong.

According to him, the President is armed with some facts to dismiss the allegations.

“He has investigated the matter before and was repeating what he has done, so what is prejudicial about it? The matter came, he requested his ministers involved to give him a report, it is something he himself has investigated and has all the fact,” he said.

Parliamentary probe will clear the air

This notwithstanding, the President said he was in favour of the probe and the transparency it has brought to the process.

“The fact that there is a public enquiry in itself, does not shake my own conviction that nothing untoward had taken place and that is the reason I took that position that I did, so that there can be no question that anybody is attempting to cover up anything, and people can see in the bright light of day on television what took place and make up for themselves their own mind whether or not something had gone on.”

Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Alan Kyerematen and officials from the Millennium Excellence Foundation, organizers of the Ghana Expatriates Business Awards, have all appeared before the committee to give testimony.

But none of the expatriates invited to testify before the committee showed up for the final day of sitting, forcing the Committee to adjourn the sitting indefinitely.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nana Addo’s comment on cash-for-seat allegation ‘improper’ – MFWA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This comes on the back of a statement issued by the GJA cautioning the media to refrain from destroying local entrepreneurs and local businesses in the name of investigative journalism.

“We (the media) should also be mindful of using the media to wage a smear campaign against individuals especially local businesses and personalities who have made substantial contribution to the growth of the economy …,” the GJA said in the statement.

The GJA’s call came in the wake of the Jospong Group’s [owners of, Zoomlion and other subsidiaries] denial of claims that it inflated the cost of a contract it had with the Mahama government to supply waste bins.

The MFWA in a rebuttal however wondered why the GJA gave such a directive, especially when it failed to provide context or reference to “any specific recent or past instances that could warrant the unusual cautionary note.”

According to the MFWA, the GJA issued this without “pointing to any specific instances, examples or evidence in the past or present, of any acts of smear campaign by any investigative journalist(s) against any personalities or businesses, local or foreign.”

“Given the palpable absence of context and the lack of reference to any specific recent or past instances that could warrant the unusual cautionary note from the GJA, one is compelled to seek answers to the following consequential questions from the GJA:What is the basis of the release? What is the underlining reason for the release? Who have been tried and pronounced guilty in and by the media? Who is waging a smear campaign in the media and against which local businesses or personalities? What are the specific instances of unfair, unbalanced, fabricated reporting by an investigative journalist? Responses to the above questions by the leadership of the GJA will help clear any doubts about the agenda the leadership of the association sought to set with the unusual statement,” the MFWA added.

It therefore urged reporters  who “are committed to the true values of journalism to remain unwavering in their fight against corruption.”

The MFWA declared its support for reporters interested in exposing corruption , saying “we remain committed to supporting the few honest, dedicated and selfless journalists who continue to risk their lives and work tirelessly to expose corrupt personalities and businesses who perpetrate fraud on the nation. Corrupt personalities and businesses must be exposed by the media and punished by the state whether they are Ghanaian or foreign.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Stop undermining anti-corruption journalism – MFWA warns GJA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Chinese Mission in Ghana had expressed anger at the manner in which Ghana is dealing with the issue , saying the media is particularly targeting China in their reportage on the matter.

[contextly_sidebar id=”aEx6CDimiB6ffZLnlQuaOeInh1iUwPHm”]But speaking on the development, the Executive Director of the MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, defended the media’s reportage on the role of Chinese miners in the menace.

He indicated that, the media cannot be criticized for discharging their duties accordingly.

“…The media are also to set the agenda on issues that are of importance to our national development and that is exactly what the media has been doing on the campaign against Galamsey.”

He intimated that, the media should rather be commended for its fight against the menace .

“I think I have had occasions to say that if there is one particular thing that the media has done in recent times that deserves commendation by all of us Ghanaians, it must be this crusade that the media are waging against the issue of Galamsey… “

“The media is supposed to be factual, and so far I think that is what the media is doing. The media’s job is to educate the people which they are doing so well…And of course the media are also to set the agenda on issues that are of importance to our national development and that is exactly what the media have been doing on the campaign against Galamsey.”

Campaigns against illegal mining in the country have in the last few months intensified with Citi FM championing a #StopGalamseyNow campaign that is gaining momentum, rallying various stakeholders to address the menace which has left devastating effects on the country’s environment.

Chinese mission’s ‘galamsey letter’ disrespectful to Ghana – PPP 

The progressive People’s Party (PPP), has described as undiplomatic the tone of a letter addressed to the government by the Chinese Mission in Ghana on the illegal mining menace in the country.

The party said the contents of the letter was an affront to Ghana’s sovereignty and must be disregarded.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Media’s fight against Galamsey commendable – MFWA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the media is playing it role effectively in the campaign against the activity but government must take the necessary action to stop it.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Braimah said while the galamsey menace appear complex, it requires a bold, competent and visionary leadership to solve it.

“…we have on our hands now what is arguably the first and major test case of the leadership of President Akufo-Addo. That is the ongoing national crusade against Galamsey (illegal mining).

Almost all our rivers have been destroyed, forests are gone, cocoa farms are gone, lives have been lost and we face the prospects of importing water in the very near future. What makes matters worse is that Chinese (who don’t care and have no basis to care for the future of this country) are the ones in the frontlines of the Galamsey business.”

“Since I grew up, I have never witnessed a case where almost all our major media organisations manage to do away with their competition to focus on a single issue for days. The fight against Galamsey by the media is historic.”

“I have been listening to Citi FM since Monday and their crusade has been compelling and legendary. Just yesterday, all the state-owned media and all the major media groupings in the country launched what they call the Media Coalition Against Galamsey. Today, the Daily Graphic dedicated its major pages to the issue. Kudos to the media.”

“The media are actively doing what they should do – set the agenda, educate the masses about the menace and demand action from the authorities. Will the authorities act?”

Sulemana Braimah said the President must act decisively on the matter given the constitutional responsibility that has been placed on him to protect the country’s mineral resources.

Article 257 Clause 6 of the 1992 Constitution states that “Every mineral in its natural state in, under or upon any land in Ghana, rivers, streams, watercourses throughout Ghana, the exclusive economic zone and any area covered by the territorial sea or continental shelf is the property of the Republic of Ghana and shall be vested in the President on behalf of, and in trust for the people of Ghana,” emphasizing the role of the President in ensuring that natural resources are not destroyed.

Many communities in Ghana are currently suffering the negative effects of galamsey which has left most of Ghana’s fresh water poisonous.

Thousands of acres of fertile farmlands have also been destroyed as a result of galamsey. Although Ghana’s laws are clear on illegal mining the activity, it has been allowed to continue for more than two decades.

Citi FM has been at the fore front of media advocacy and crusade for action against the illegal activity.

President Akufo-Addo has said his government is working to develop a policy that will deal with galamsey in the country but pressure is increasingly being mounted on him to act fast to arrest the situation.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Galamsey fight real test for Akufo-Addo gov’t – Media Foundation appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the foundation, a lot of lives might also be lost.

Mr. Jammeh, whose mandate per the Gambia’s constitution should have ended at midnight on Wednesday, had that mandate extended by Parliament by 90 days.

[contextly_sidebar id=”KeV69UJW0H8SVlQAjLbwnDzUcCj8myrS”]Meanwhile, following failed efforts by ECOWAS to have Mr. Jammeh to step down after losing the elections organized in December 2016, the sub-regional bloc has sent troops to Gambia to ensure the restoration of rule of law.

But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, the Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, explained that lives might be lost through military intervention.

“I will say that at this stage, it may not be the appropriate thing to do to intervene militarily to remove Jammeh…The Gambia has a military force of about 2,500 people…beyond that, I don’t think in terms of fire power they are that strong, so they can easily be defeated, but that wouldn’t mean that they wouldn’t resist. Resisting would mean that some innocent lives will be lost, infrastructure will be destroyed and even if Adama Barrow were to be put in as president he is going to face a very difficult situation,” he added.

Mr. Sulemana also explained that, The Gambia which has a population of about 1.9 million who rally along ethnic lines even in politics.

According to him, due to this situation, the ethnic group where Jammeh belongs to might revolt against the new president if there is any military intervention.

“The Gambia is a small country of about 1.9 million people, they are very well bonded around ethnic groups…and these ethnicity and bonding around ethnic lines are quite strong. And politics in the Gambia over the years has also been around ethnic lines. If you follow development from the international and regional media, there were so many people who were still demonstrating on the streets and social media against what ECOWAS was trying to do…and I think that if Jammeh were to be forcefully removed, the population will be divided and Adama Barrow will have a very difficult situation,” he noted.

Gambia: Barrow to be inaugurated in Senegal

Adama Barrow took to twitter to announce that his inauguration will be held at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

“I would like to inform you that the Inauguration Ceremony is going to take place at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal,” he announced.

I would like to inform you that the Inauguration Ceremony is going to take place at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. #Gambia pic.twitter.com/ofxlIpJChl

— Adama Barrow (@adama_barrow) January 19, 2017

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

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Speaking during a training workshop for journalists on their safety during the coverage of this year’s elections, Board Member of the Foundation, Prof. Kwame Karikari said : “Ghana has led in the number of violations of media rights and the majority of cases show that security personnel are the perpetrators of this attack on journalists rights.”

“It is the security who must protect all citizens including the media and if they are a source of threat to the safety of journalists then really that is a big problem because the media must work with the Police particularly in this period of elections to ensure peace, to ensure the fairness of the process and to ensure that the elections come out successfully. From January to June, Ghana was second after Nigeria as the highest violater of press freedom rights. From July to September, Ghana was first recording seven out of 25 incidents of violations in all 60 countries.”

In May 2015, Ghana was ranked the 22nd country on the World Press Freedom Index.

According to the 2015 World Press Freedom Index ranking, compiled by Paris-based ‘Reporters Without Borders,’ Ghana ranked 22nd out of 180 countries.

In 2014, the media charged government to take immediate steps to prevent Ghana from losing its status as a nation that upholds freedom of speech and a free press.

The Foundation said the country is rapidly slipping from being a “glorious free press country.”

The call came after an assault on a Daily Graphic journalist by the brother of the Black Stars’ captain, Asamoah Gyan.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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Umaru Sanda Amadu who hosts Citi FM‘s news analysis program, The Big Issue and Politicos on Citi TV was shortlisted for the award after producing a  comprehensive documentary Open defecation along the coast in Accra.

The award-wining news anchor in his documentary revealed how majority of Ghanaians living along the coast in Ghana’s capital, Accra resorted to open defecation on the beaches due to the lack of toilet facilities in their homes.

A research conducted by UNICEF revealed that 1, out of every 5 Ghanaians defecate in the open and only 1 of 6 Ghanaians have toilets in their homes. In the rural areas, only 1 out of every 10 Ghanaians have toilets in their homes.

According to Umaru Sanda Amadu, the prevalence of the phenomenon indicates authorities were losing the fight in combating the menace.

His work was produced as part of project that was jointly funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Dozens of journalists from across the country were trained under the project on the SDGs and were equipped to support the effective implementation of the global goals through quality reporting on them.

Other journalists shortlisted for the award include, Bubu Klinogo (GBC Radio, Accra), Theresa Oppong (Ultimate FM – Kumasi), Michael Mfum Sarpong (Starr FM correspondent – Sunyani), Abdul Hameed Amponsah (Radio Peace, Winneba) and Nina Abena Antwi-Kusi (TV3 Network Limited).

The awards event which is slated for Monday, October 24 is being hosted jointly by The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and the UN system in Ghana.

The overall winner will receive a plaque, a citation and a cash prize of GHC 6,000. The first and second runners-up will receive a plaque, citation and cash prizes of GHC 3,000 and GHC2, 000 respectively. The other nominees will each be presented with a certificate of merit.

The top three nominees will be inducted into MFWA’s prestigious Journalism for Change (J4C) Network.

The awards ceremony will bring together representatives from the UN, National Development Planning Commission, the Civil Society Platform on SDGs and the media. The programme will be held at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra.

‘Umaru Sanda’s nominated documentary’

The documentary that earned Umaru Sanda Amadu the nomination is titled “Living Open Defecation.” It focused on the phenomenon of open defecation at La in Accra; how serious the practice is, and why it will not end anytime soon.

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By: Citifmonline.com/Ghana

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