Free press means more than repealing criminal libel law

Agona Swedru (Central Region) - A private legal practitioner on Monday said laws restrictive to press freedom on the status books should be repealed to give meaning to spirit of chapter of the constitution, which guarantee freedom of speech.

Yonney Kulendi, presenting a paper on "ten years constitutional rule, challenge of Ghanaian media, a legal and political perspective, at a workshop for journalists said the repeal of criminal libel and seditious laws did not give full meaning to freedom of speech as envisage in the constitution.

The two-day workshop being attended by about 60 journalists from both print and electronic media is being organised by the GJA with the sponsorship from UNDP. Kulendi said not withstanding with the criminal code repeal of criminal and seditious laws there is still considerable task of legislative reform.

He mentioned sections 184, 278, on indecency 280 obscenities 281, 282, 283 and 284 of the criminal code 1960 Act 29 as inimical to freedom of speech. He said state secret act, state service law, civil interim regulation, armed forces and police service acts and prison decree as representing part of the "untenable legal traditions we have held on for too long. These laws are restrictive as far as access to official information is concern.

"This tradition of secrecy practically reserves a relation between the people, sovereign and government as agent and servant."

Kulendi said: "Equally and inconformity with constitutional guarantee of the right to information, as enshrine in Article 21 of the constitution there is the need to reform and amend the numerous state secrecy laws hidden in several status.

Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs in a keynote address said it was being recognised that media "be protectors of the people's freedom more than Judicial and Executive."

He said there is opportunity for the media to be more relevant to governance, perhaps than anybody. He said journalists must be courageous and objective and must be properly informed in taking decisions.

Obetsebi-Lamptey said the media should have a power to guard against itself being replaced by anything in democratic society. He said he feared the media was in danger of losing its power if it over sensationalised issues with simplistic approach.

Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, a Lecturer of the School of Communication Studies said the private media ought to ensure that they did not lose their credibility because they stood the danger of losing their readership, which would throw them out of business.

She predicted that it was "clear that unless there is improvement in both content and business performance, many of private media would have difficulty surviving into the next decade and would remain on the breadline for a long time to come."

Dr Gadzekpo suggested a merger of some newspapers and media houses "as a way of surviving and building more viable business. Particularly private newspapers must improve conditions of service for journalists in order to attract more competent and experienced professionals and state media must also beef up salaries to avoid their veterans for being poached by better resourced radio and television stations."

She called on media houses to invest in human capital and provide better training opportunities to journalists.