Parliament, media must cooperate in national interest - Boadu-Ayeboafoh

The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, has urged Parliament and the media to work in a mutually cooperative manner in the supreme interest of the country.

He said the two institutions needed to appreciate their unique roles in advancing national growth.

He, therefore, described the incident in which the Speaker threatened to withdraw the privileges of journalists who would abandon the proceedings in the Chamber for coverage of events outside it as an “unfortunate development”, which could have been avoided.

Unhelpful

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency over the incident, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh, a journalist and lawyer, said it was unhelpful to the public interest for the journalists to have left the Chamber en masse; while members were debating the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), a constitutionally mandated activity.

“If something had happened in the Chamber in the process, how would the journalists have covered it?” he asked.

However, if the media had done anything wrong, the solution, he said, it was not for the Speaker to issue a threat, but to engage the media in a respectful manner to explain issues for them to understand.

“In as much as Parliament has the authority and power to dismiss people from the Chamber, both Parliament and citizens would lose out when journalists are not present to cover proceedings,” he explained.

Replacement

According to Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh, replacing the present crop of journalists with new ones would also not inure to the benefit of either the citizens or Parliament because it was better to use knowledgeable reporters who have grown to understand the work and regulations of the House.

Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said the Constitution recognised the roles of the two —Parliament and the media, and no institution could deprive journalists of their discretionary right of what to cover or publish.

“The media has a responsibility to cover Parliament in the public interest, especially when it relates to the SONA, which the Constitution mandates the President to deliver to Parliament.

“The issue is not about who wields what power but of mutual respect and understanding for cooperation; the media should not treat Parliament with contempt and Parliament should not treat the media with impunity,” Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said.

Background

Prior to the commencement of deliberations on the President’s State of the Nation Address in Parliament last Wednesday, the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had drawn the attention of the Speaker to an occurrence in the House on February 25, 2020.

He had told the Speaker that the media withdrew from coverage of proceedings in the House to attend to a private briefing by an individual legislator.

Addressing the concerns raised, the Speaker cautioned the media to be circumspect and place the interest of the House above those of individual parliamentarians.

He reminded the media that they were guests in the House who had been permitted and accredited by the Speaker and that any deviation from carrying out their responsibility of covering proceedings of the House could lead to they (press) having their accreditation withdrawn.- GNA