Okudzeto on why Radio Gold was not invited to Akufo-Addo’s media encounter
A Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Curtis Perry Okudzeto has explained that the reason for not inviting Accra based Radio Gold to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s maiden media encounter was not on grounds of "discrimination" against the pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) radio station.
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Rather, he said there were a total of over 350 radio stations, over 150 newspapers and close to 20 television stations in Ghana, therefore, “it was not a possibility that we will have a representative from every single media house.”
“We found a way of pruning down the names by inviting people so that we can be able to take care of the numbers,” Mr Okudzeto said in a radio interview on Peace FM Tuesday morning.
President Akufo-Addo meets the media Tuesday afternoon to open himself up for assessment on his six months in office, however journalists at Radio Gold have complained that they have not been invited to the programme.
Explaining why Radio Gold was not invited, Mr Okudzeto said it was not done with a motive to discriminate against media houses and their political affiliations.
“There is no discrimination as to particular media houses that have been invited,” he said, and added that the Ministers at the Ministry of information when they took office visited all media houses including Peace FM, Radio Gold and Montie FM to interact and see how they could collaborate because, “they also represent a section of the Ghanaian society.”
“If unfortunately, a particular media house has not been invited it is not because the station is CPP or PNC, that is not the criteria,” he added
Asked why Radio Gold was therefore not invited, Mr Okudzeto responded, “there are several other radio stations in Accra that were not."
“If all other radio stations in Accra had been invited and Radio Gold was left out then people could have an issue but it is not that every radio station in Accra has been invited."
Pressed further by the host of the show, Kwami Sefa Kayi on why Radio Gold, which represents “a strong section of society” could have been left out, Mr Okudzeto said ordinarily the encounter would have been organised after one year but the President requested that the media should be invited after the first six months.
Mr Okudzeto indicated there would be other opportunities adding that President Akufo-Addo believed in freedom of speech and therefore it would not be under his presidency that there would be discrimination against particular media houses because of their “party affiliation.”
He said it was the beginning of these interactions and that other radio stations in Brong Ahafo, Northern, Western, Volta, Central and the rest have also complained on why they were also not invited.
He said the reality was that they could not invite all journalists in Ghana and that another group of people would be invited for the encounter another day.
“I believe that as we go along, we will improve on these things and if the opportunity is there every media house will get the opportunity as we go along. If we were discriminating against Radio Gold we [Mustapha Hamid, Nana Dokua] will not have visited to interact with them [Radio Gold] when we started our work.
It would be recalled that during President John Dramani Mahama's administration, Oman FM, owned by NPP Assin Central Member of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Agyapong was also not invited to similar media encounters at the presidency.
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