By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, says Ghana’s record on freedom of expression should be in better shape than it is currently.
According to him, the country cannot accept its current position on the World Press Freedom (WPF) Index after 30 years of parliamentary democracy in Ghana.
“After 30 years of parliamentary democracy in Ghana, freedom of expression should be in a better shape than it is now. Ghana must not be retrogressing when it comes to freedom of the press while democracy is on the ascendancy,” He reiterated.
Mr. Bagbin continued further by saying Ghana cannot afford any further decline in the World Press Freedom Ratings. Adding that, Parliament intends to work with the media and other key stakeholders to improve upon Ghana’s rating in the area of media freedom, and freedom of expression in general.
For the second successive year, Ghana dropped on the Annual Press Freedom Index from 60th place last year to 62nd in 2023. This was in a report released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and is Ghana’s worst performance in 18 years since it placed 66th in 2005. Remember that in 2021, Ghana shockingly dropped 30 points from the 30th to the 60th position.
The Rt. Hon. Speaker said this when he paid a working visit to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on Tuesday, July, 11, 2023 at the Broadcasting House near Kanda-Accra.
Mr. Speaker’s visit forms part of activities earmarked by Parliament for its 30 years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy in Ghana.
The celebration is under the theme “Thirty years of parliamentary democracy under the Fourth Republic: the journey thus far”.
Ghana recorded its best performance when it ranked 22nd globally in 2015.
But a visibly worried Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, over Ghana’s position on the WFP said: “Today, Burkina Faso under military rulers, who have banned local retransmission of international news, and deported foreign journalists, still performed better than Ghana. Namibia (22) South Africa (25), Cape Verde (33), Seychelles (34), the Gambia (46), Ivory Coast (54), Burkina Faso (58), and Niger (61) were all ranked ahead of Ghana.
According to him, the general welfare of the Ghanaian journalists has been central in Ghana’s rating by Reporters Without Borders saying, “We cannot continue to pretend all is well. Serious consideration must be given to how to ensure that the media is really unfettered not just in its access to information, but also in its condition of service.
He is of the opinion that the three arms of government (the executives, judiciary and legislature) ought to be joined in the efforts to secure and guarantee media freedom and freedom of expression, noting that the absence of which is detrimental to the concept of separation of powers, fundamental human rights, parliament’s oversight responsibilities, and good governance.
“Establishing the connection between press freedom, free expression, democracy, and national development is necessary. Holding those in authority accountable, exposing corruption and the abuse of power, and fostering transparency and good governance are all made possible by a free press.
It is our duty to protect freedom of expression and by extension, the journalists, despite the infractions that come with journalism at times; but do we have any other choice? Certainly not. As Thomas Jefferson, the former US President said, if he had to choose between a government without newspapers, and newspapers without a government, he will not hesitate a moment to choose newspapers without a government. He was making a strong point for freedom of expression,” Mr. Speaker retorted.
