Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh
The National Media Commission has lashed out at people preventing journalists from giving coverage to the confirmation of the recently nominated Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in some part of the country.
According to the Media Commission, nobody have the right to prevent any journalist since the confirmation is a public event and preventing the media from carrying out its fundamental mandate amounts to violation of media freedom and affront to the right and access to information by the media to the people of the country.
Some groups of people were said to be preventing media practitioners from giving coverage to the confirmation of the recently nominated MMDCEs.
In a statement issued Thursday September 31, 2021 and signed by the Chairman, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, the NMC condemned the action, saying that “It has come to the notice of the National Media Commission that, some groups of people are preventing media practitioners from giving coverage to the confirmation of the recently nominated Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives.
“The Commission stresses that the confirmation process are public events and therefore any inhibition of the media from carrying out its fundamental mandate amounts to violation of media freedom and an affront to the Right and Access to Information by the media to the people of Ghana.”
The Commission further reminds the District Assemblies that it is their duty to create an enabling environment and protect all journalists covering all activities on the confirmation of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives.”
The Commission notes that as part of good governance, access to information is a critical ingredient in creating structures that ensure peace and stability.”
It therefore urged all stakeholders in this process to accord the media all the necessary courtesies and protocols in the line of their duty.
In the same vein, the Commission also appealed to all journalists covering these events to also be professional.
By Vincent Kubi