We’ll safeguard right to free expression — President Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has made a commitment to safeguard the right to free speech and expression as outlined in the 1992 Constitution.
The President, who expressed regret over Ghana's decline in the Press Freedom Index over the past eight years, pledged to restore the country's reputation as a champion of media freedom and free expression.
“I know that under the last administration, there were a lot of issues [that led to] the country being downgraded on the Press Freedom Index, but together we can work to restore Ghana to its pride of place in terms of media freedom and free expression,” President Mahama said.
The President was speaking at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday during a meeting with the leadership of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) Ghana, when they called on him.
ISD under Presidency
To achieve media and press freedom, President Mahama said the government would restructure the Information Services Department (ISD) by moving it from the Civil Service to the Office of the President.
“One of the things that remains to be done is to bring the ISD under the Presidency and modernise that organisation from a civil service organisation into a modern organisation that gives guaranteed information flow to the public in respect of whatever government is doing,” he stated.
“The days of the cinema vans are gone. Now we have all kinds of instruments of communication. That department must be reformed,” President Mahama said.
He said the move would improve the government's interaction with the public and ensure a more coordinated approach to government’s information flow.
We’ll support
The President also encouraged IPR-Ghana to provide communication support to help achieve his administration's national objectives.
The President of IPR-Ghana, Esther Cobbah, said the institute would support the President and his government to succeed.
She urged the President to call on the institute when the need arose in the interest of the country.
“The institute is willing and ready to provide communication support towards the realisation of your national objectives. Please call us and we’ll be here to support. We are part of your army,” Ms Cobbah said.
Ecumenical bodies
The President also held a meeting with the Volta Regional branch of the Christian Ecumenical Bodies.
The President entreated the men of God to continue to be watchdogs of his government.
He urged them not to hesitate to draw his government’s attention to developments in government and speak freely on matters of national importance.
President Mahama said such feedback would be taken as positive instruments to right any wrongs that may emerge in government.
The President also hinted of plans to turn the Ho Airport into a Pilot Training School of world-class reputation.
"There is the proposition to use the Ho Airport as a Pilot Training School, a first-class pilot training school for West Africa," President Mahama said.