Friday, 17th September, 2021

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DAILY ANALYST Friday, 17th September, 2021
Story: DAILY Analyst
Correspondent
Journalists and Media
practitioners in the
country have been urged
to report attacks on
them be ready to testify
to seek redress.
According to the Chairman of
the National Media Commission
(NMC), Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh,
who made the call, his outfit
was a legitimate body to handle
issues of attacks on journalists.
He, therefore, encouraged to
journalists to cooperate to protect
themselves.
Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh was
speaking at a consultative meeting
with journalists in Tamale,
Northern Region on the Coordinated
Mechanism on the Safety
of journalists.
The consultative meeting,
which was organised by the
NMC together with the Ministry
of Information and the United
Report attacks against you!
Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation (UNE-
SCO), was to school participants
on the Coordinated Mechanism
on the Safety of Journalists
amongst other emerging issues
on the safety of journalists.
The NMC chairman was particularly
worried that some journalists
and media practitioners,
who suffered attacks, failed to
make formal complaints or were
unwilling to testify in such matters
to help ensure justice for
them, saying “There is little we
can do if you do not report to us
or willing to testify.”
In this regard, he reaffirmed
the NMC’s commitment to protect
journalists stressing that “If
the journalist is not secure, we
cannot get quality journalism”
urging journalists to consider
the long term effects of attacks
on their health and wellbeing
programmes, capacity building
and training sessions for journalists
and public officials across
Ghana. In 2019, for instance,
the organisation trained over
150 journalists from the Ashanti,
Northern and Greater Accra
regions on how to utilise the RTI
law for critical reporting. In 2021,
the organization brought together
some 15 investigative journalists
in a three-day residential
bootcamp to equip them with
skills and knowledge on how to
use the RTI law to advance their
investigations. To also improve
local governance accountability,
the MFWA has trained 30 journalists
from community-based
radio stations in some parts of
the country on the RTI law, information
request processes and
how they can seek information
to facilitate more detailed and
factual reporting. About 150 local
government officials made up
of Metropolitan, Municipal and
District Chief Executives, Coordiand
seek justice rather than settle
such matters on the quiet.
For his part, the Head of
Office and Representative of UN-
ESCO, Mr Abdourahamane Diallo,
in Ghana lamented the increasing
cases of attacks on journalists
in the country. He called
for a multi-sectoral approach to
protect, prevent and prosecute
the perpetrators of such attacks.
The Acting Northern Regional
Chairman of the Ghana Journalists
Association, Mr Yakubu
Abdul Majeed, applauded the engagement
and said the development
of the Coordinated Mechanism
on the Safety of Journalists
was in the right direction to
help protect journalists in line of
work in the country.
Recently, attacks on journalists
have been on the increase,
giving cause for worry.
Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, NMC Chairman
Deepening access to information for
accountable governance in Ghana
Story: George Obeng
Access to information
is a universal human
right. Accordingly, it
is recognised in several
international human
rights treaties and protocols
such as the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights. These instruments place
obligations on States that have
ratified them to respect, protect
and fulfil citizens’ enjoyment of
the right to information.
Access to public-held information
is also a critical tool
for attaining the key indicators
of good governance i.e. participation,
transparency and
accountability among others. It
strengthens and institutionalises
mechanisms for citizens-government
engagements on development
issues that affect their lives.
–the MFWA experience
It empowers citizens to demand
transparency and accountability
on matters of public interest
thereby holding governments
and public office holders accountable
for their stewardship.
Ghana is a signatory to these
international and regional instruments
and protocols. Accordingly,
the 1992 Constitution and
the recently passed Right to Information
law (Act 989) grant citizens
the full enjoyment of this
right. Sadly, however, the mere
existence of an RTI law does not
guarantee citizen participation,
state accountability and state
responsiveness. The law is almost
needless without real structural
mechanisms and political will
to provide information, and the
ability of citizens to claim their
right to information and to use it
to demand better governance and
public services.
In view of this, the Media
Foundation for West Africa
(MFWA), since the passage of the
RTI law in 2019, has been implementing
a series of activities to
sensitize and promote public
awareness and engagement on
the RTI law in Ghana. Below are
some key specific interventions
undertaken by the organisation.
1. Capacity building and
sensitisation on the RTI law
According to Alianza Regional
(2009)[1], lack of training on access
to information is one of the
major obstacles to its effective
implementation. This is because
users need to know and understand
the law, as well as their
rights and obligations under the
law in order to effectively evoke
it. The MFWA in this regard has
organised several sensitisation
nating Directors and Information
Officers from various Metropolitan
Municipal and District
Assemblies (MMDAs) have also
been trained on their obligations
under the law. The aim has been
to empower both the demand
and supply sides of governance of
their responsibilities and obligations
under the RTI law.
2. Publication of a simplified
version of the RTI Law
To make the RTI law user
friendly for the media and the
public in general, the MFWA,
with support from the DW Akademie,
produced and published
a Journalists Guidebook on the
law. Titled Essentials of the RTI
Law, the guidebook helps readers
highlights key areas of the law
such as exempt information;
information request process; the
appeal process etc. So far, over
500 copies of the Guidebook have
been distributed to newsrooms,
media organisations and some
public institutions across Ghana.
A copy of the Guidebook is also
available online for easy access.
3. Sensitisation Forums for
Media and the Public
To encourage public participation
and usage of the right to
information law among citizens,
the MFWA periodically organises
national forums on the law.
These forums usually bring
together high-profile lawyers,
journalists, representatives of the
government, the media, citizens
and other key stakeholders to
discuss these topical issues such
as government efforts to ensure
an effective RTI regime; how the
law can engender Ghana’s fight
against corruption; as well as
emerging trends and challenges.
These Forums harvest key recommendations
towards ensuring a
more robust access to information
regime in Ghana.
4. Gauging Public Institutions
Responsiveness to Making Information
Request
Between September 2020
and June 2021, the MFWA has
made over 30 requests to some
public institutions in Ghana. The
outcomes of these requests have
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