A former chairman of Parliament\u2019s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Albert Kan Dapaah has jumped into the debate over \u2018soli\u2019 for journalists and has defended journalists for collecting monies\u00a0from event organizers.<\/p>\n
\u2018Soli\u2019 is a term used to describe monies paid by event organizers to journalists after covering events.<\/p>\n
There have been varying opinions on the matter in the past few weeks with some media professionals describing it as unethical.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The widespread condemnation of the act deepened when the UK High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin condemned journalists who take “soli” and described their actions as “hypocritical.”<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”NKJokprKQkuw5cqbA7Qmf7zGbjSWLezX”]He also warned that taking \u2018soli\u2019 from event organizers compromises the credibility and integrity of media practitioners<\/strong> <\/span><\/a>and influences stories produced from such events.<\/p>\n But speaking at an event organized by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition in Accra, Kan Dapaah who is also the Consulting Director of the Centre for Public Accountability at University of Professional Studies said, media house owners should rather resource journalists in order to curb the phenomenon.<\/p>\n He pointed out that most journalists are forced to compromise their integrity by accepting and sometimes demanding \u2018soli\u2019 because they are poorly paid or in some cases, not paid at all.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are talking about soli when I don\u2019t get paid… So why shouldn\u2019t I take the soli?\u201d he queried.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people working in the media today, they don\u2019t get paid,\u201d he stressed adding that \u201cthey say go out and get stories so when you go there hoping that you will get \u2018soli\u2019 but we all know what soli does to the credibility of the media.\u201d<\/p>\n Kan Dapaah was certain that the only way to fight the phenomenon \u201cis to make sure that soli doesn\u2019t become necessary. Who in England, what journalist in America will go for soli?\u201d<\/p>\n He warned that the issue must not be addressed lightly saying, \u201cdon\u2019t let us play with it. Let us recognize that there are only two institutions that can check corruption and let us invest in these institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n In an earlier interview with Citi News,\u00a0the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) has cautioned Ghanaians not to confuse ‘soli’ with bribery.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By: Efua Idan Osam\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
\nFollow @osamidan<\/a>
\n