Media must be circumspect in reportage — NCCE
The Bosomtwe District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Yaw Oppong Fosu, has said although the constitution mandates the freedom of speech, there is the need for the media to be circumspect in their reporting.
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“What happened in Rwanda is a good example of sensationalism, lies and exaggeration which should not be repeated here in Ghana since the nation cannot afford such a conflict,” he said.
Mr Fosu said this in his welcome address when he spoke at a community durbar at Akokofe in the Bosomtwe District in the Ashanti region.
The programme, funded by Star-Ghana, was organised by the Bosomtwe office of the NCCE and was aimed at sensitising the people of the need to maintain peace and stability after the 2012 presidential election judgement.
He commended a cross- section of the media which was doing well and challenged the others to do the right thing to help bring peace and development to the entire nation.
He stated that there was the need for the people to cultivate the culture of tolerance and being law-abiding since these were the only tools to bring everlasting peace to the country. He also urged political activists to embrace decorum in their engagements with others who might not share their views.
The Deputy Ashanti Regional Director of NCCE, Mr Lord Larbi, who was the main speaker, explained that democracy could only thrive on tolerance, adding that human beings were not created equally and therefore had different views and opinions on issues.
“There is, therefore, the need for people to respect the views of others and agree to disagree as conflicts are bound to come but how they are resolved makes the difference in a democracy,” he said.
The deputy director cautioned both political parties and religious activists in the country who always contributed to political and religious discussions on airwaves to be mindful of their remarks since they were always characterised by insults.
That, according to him, if not checked, could plunge the nation into something that might cost us so much so all should be careful with the way they did things.
He lamented the polarisation of the Ghanaian society and observed that every issue in the country now was polarised and said “this is not a good practice.
“Why should the youth of the nation allow themselves to be influenced in any way by anybody either through money or alcohol for his/her selfish interest and take the laws into their own hands.’’
An elder of the Akokofe Pentecost Church, Mr Gabriel Adu-Abankro, who chaired the function, said the nation could not develop well without effective civic education, so there was the need for the government to resource the commission to enable it to undertake its constitutional mandate effectively.
He challenged all Ghanaians to be law-abiding to ensure that everything was done for peace and development.
