Journalists are partners in national development — Mahama

It facilitated interaction between a cross-section of the media and Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Minister of Information and Media Relations.

President Mahama said although the task of ensuring national development was quite an enormous one, it could be carried out if the right measures were taken.

He said it was very important that the media were well informed about every vital issue in order to present  facts to the public.

The President said although there could be difficult times ahead, "we hope for a good partnership with the media in pursuit of the national agenda".

Mr Ayariga said he would reach out more frequently to the media and pursue an open-door policy that would encourage the free flow of credible information, saying, "I hope this will promote greater understanding between the media and my ministry and ensure that we work together as partners."

He said Ghana’s ranking on the World Press Freedom Index was impressive, with the country being ranked 30th "ahead of even developed democracies such as the US and France".

"We all need to pat ourselves on the back for this achievement and work hard to make it even better," he said, adding, "We urge media practitioners to place great premium on responsibility and truth to the people."

He said the country's democracy required "that we keep the people united and also uphold our core values of peace, freedom, justice and national cohesion".

Mr Ayariga reiterated his commitment to media freedom, saying, "My motto will remain more education and no sanctions."

He urged media practitioners to always ensure that they lived up to their responsibility to the people by reporting only the truth.

The minister said the establishment of a Media Development Fund remained high on the government's agenda, noting that "through collaboration with the National Media Commission (NMC) and other stakeholders, we hope to formulate policies on how to operate such a fund".