Presidential Media Encounters: A neglected tradition

In the past, the seat of government played host to regular media encounters, providing a platform for presidents to address the nation and answer questions on their administration's performance.

 This tradition, which fostered accountability and transparency, has sadly fallen by the wayside since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hiatus in these encounters has left a significant void in the country's democratic landscape. The media, and by extension the public, have been denied the opportunity to engage with the President and hold his appointees accountable for their actions.

The Daily Graphic is of the view that the revival of these encounters is long overdue, and therefore, considers the appeal by the Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association, Charles Benoni Okine, to the Minister of Information, Fatimatu Abubakar, at a recent meeting, to help revive the Presidential Media Encounters, as appropriate. 

The proposed revival of such engagements has been lauded as a prudent step towards fostering a more transparent and accountable government.

According to the regional chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, this initiative would effectively bridge the information gap between the media and the presidency, promoting a more informed and engaged citizenry. 

The Daily Graphic endorses this call, particularly as the President approaches the culmination of his second term in office, emphasising the need for enhanced transparency and accountability in governance.

It has been a significant period since the President last engaged directly the media, and while it is within this discretion to convene such gatherings, we firmly believe that providing a platform for the media to pose questions and seek clarification on pressing public concerns would greatly benefit our burgeoning democracy. 

By doing so, the highest office in the land would be subjected to scrutiny, fostering transparency and accountability. In numerous democratic nations, regular presidential media encounters are a standard practice, serving to reduce tensions and maintaining government accountability.

We advocate the adoption of this practice in our country to promote a more open and responsive governance.

Again, in an era where misinformation and disinformation have become a critical issue, taking away some pluses from our democracy, the paper has no doubt that meeting with the media often can help cure that canker or reduce it to the barest minimum. 

We can recall that the last presidential encounter was before the outbreak of COVID-19. It was understandable because of the deadly pandemic.

What became “Fellow Ghanaians” was very much appreciated because it afforded the President the opportunity to update Ghanaians on some very pertinent issues, particularly COVID-19, a pandemic which Ghanaians needed a lot of information on at the time to inform their decisions in order to minimise or eliminate its spread.

Laudable as it was, ‘Fellow Ghanaians’ lacked the platform for media personnel to ask questions or seek in-depth clarifications on some major issues regarding the programmes and policies as announced.

To us, the gaps as identified in there is what a Presidential Media Encounter will fill, hence our support for the call.

In future, the paper would want the encounters to be institutionalised and held at least, once every quarter.

To us, this will further help deepen our democracy and make governance more accountable and transparent to the people.

Ghana as the shining example of democracy on the continent should not only use the conduct of free and fair elections. Opening up to the media on all fronts is also another bar we can raise for the rest to follow. It is, therefore, our fervent hope that, this call will not go unheeded but will be given urgent attention.