‘Criticise state institutions constructively’
A Justice of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Joseph Akamba, has urged journalists to criticise state institutions such as the Judiciary constructively for them to work towards strengthening the country’s fledgling democracy.
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He stated that the “major weapon of the media is the use of words, spoken or written” that could be used to build or pull down state institutions.
Justice Akamba made reference to the biblical account of the creation of the world and said, “The world was created by the word and the word is a powerful weapon for anything.”
“I would like to encourage the media to use their weapons constructively, especially when criticising the actions and inaction of the Judiciary and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), which are there to strengthen our democracy,” he stressed.
Justice Akamba gave the advice when he swore in Mr Kakra Essamuah, a legal practitioner, as a member of the National Media Commission (NMC) in Accra yesterday.
Mr Essamuah, a representative of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, replaced Ms Patience Opoku, who had stood down.
Media should be professional
Justice Akamba said every new year should offer the opportunity for a reflection on the past and the future, adding 2014 offered a new opportunity for journalists to be more responsible, fair and accurate than they had been in the past.
He asked the NMC to reflect on its mandate over the years and for the future, urging the commission to consider, for instance, measures to ensure that the media maintained high journalistic standards.
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“The NMC is also to insulate the state-owned media from government control,” he said, adding, “This is necessary for sustaining the nation’s cohesion, peace and stability.”
False impression
For his part, the Chairman of the NMC, Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, described as false the claims that the commission had demanded that the Media Development Fund (MDF) be handed over to it to manage.
According to him the impression was created by some political commentators, even though it was not backed by any evidence, documentary or otherwise.
“In our view, a public fund such as the MDF should be operated through a board of trustees, composed of all relevant stakeholders,” he stated.
He said the NMC’s position had been stated in different correspondence to the government since the MDF was proposed.
“In line with best practices everywhere, the proposed fund should only commence and operate when a properly constituted board of trustees has been set up and guidelines, procedures and criteria for accessing the fund have been outlined and made public,” he stressed.