Political Looters to blame for Ghana’s Poverty

Accra — "The bane of Ghana's economy is the stealing of state resources by public officials, and unless we stopped this act of looting the country, there is no hope for this country no matter the government which is in power."

This blunt assertion was made by no other person than the "anti-corruption crusader", Hon. Paul Collins Appiah-Ofori, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asikuma/Odoben/Brakwa in the Central Region.

In an interview with Public Agenda on Media and Development, Hon. Appiah-Ofori regretted that some media houses are abdicating their constitutional responsibility of exposing some of the criminals in the system.

"It is regrettable that some media houses rather go to the defence of some of these criminals instead of exposing them to the hilt. Some of the media practitioners are not principled."

These media houses, he contends, have failed in upholding Article 35(8) which provides that "The State shall take steps to eradicate corrupt practices and the abuse of power". He argues, "The media is part of the State, therefore the practitioners owe it a duty to, at least, curb corruption if not to eradicate it. But if the same journalists turn round to defend those who have been caught in criminal acts then where are we going?"

To Hon. James Klutse Avedzi, MP for Ketu North, media quality is "not up to standard" although they might be doing their best. He blames the unfortunate situation on lack of resources, typical among them being low remuneration of which some unscrupulous people have taken undue advantage of and are using the media for their selfish ends. "They are not paid well, and they can't leave on empty stomachs. While pursuing their work they also look for something that will sustain them.

The Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, Hon. Akua Sena Dansua, was of the view that while the media in Ghana have become very vibrant, some sections disregard the ethics of the profession to satisfy the ego of certain politicians.

She urged journalists to put much premium on developmental issues such as global warming, streetism, child labour, education and health, and shy away from irresponsible journalism characterized by tribalism and personalization of issues.

The Minister recalled that prior to the election, some media houses pushed the nation to the brink of war by churning out highly volatile stories, "but it was God that saved us".

She said the media are an important tool for keeping State agencies on their toes, hence ensuring accountability.

Gifty Klenam, the MP for Lower West Akim, shared similar sentiments urging the media to build their capacity to deliver on their mandate. "Its time the media equipped themselves to articulate the relevant issues that affect development."

She asked the media, for example, to analyse the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and see whether its consequences would be good for the country or not; its effect on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should.

Like Hon. Dansua, she called on the media to focus more on development issues by researching and bringing to the fore matters on women empowerment, health and education, among others.

Story by Ebenezer Hanson

Source: The Public Agenda