NPP leads MFWA chart on indecent expressions

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) said for the sixth consecutive week, officials and supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) led in the use of indecent expression by making ten out of the 17 indecent remarks on radio.

Mr Kennedy Agyapong, the NPP Member of Parliament for Assin North Constituency, alone made about a third (six) of the indecent expressions recorded; three were made during the Boiling Point programme on his own radio station, Oman FM, and the other three, in a telephone interview on Classic FM’s Kokrokoo programme.

In a statement to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday signed by Professor Kwame Karikari MFWA Executive Director said the 17 indecent expressions captured during the week under review September 23 - 29, (26th week of monitoring) were recorded on nine (9) political discussion programmes.

The statement explained that Political activities of the NPP and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) were the main subjects of discussion during which the indecent expressions were made.

The breakdown of the 17 indecent expressions indicates that: Insulting/ Offensive Comments – seven; Unsubstantiated Allegations – seven; and Innuendoes – three.

Reports were received on 121 programmes aired on all the 31 radio stations selected for the project. Nine (9) out of the 121 programmes recorded a total of 17 indecent expressions.

On Expressions Used and Political Party Affiliation, the MFWA statement noted that one out of the 17 indecent expressions was a rebroadcast, the remaining 16 were indecent remarks made by eleven individuals belonging to the NPP and the NDC.

According to the statement five of the eleven individuals who were affiliates/supporters of the NPP made a total of 10 indecent remarks and six other expressions were made by affiliates of the NDC.

Table:         Political Party Affiliation by Expressions Used

Political Party Affiliation	Types of Expressions Used
	Insulting/ offensive comments	Unsubstantiated allegations	Innuendoes	Total
NPP	6	3	1	10
NDC	0	4	2	6
Total	6	7	3	16

According to the MFWA, the remaining one indecent expression not captured in table above was a rebroadcast of an offensive remark aired on Adom FM, a Tema Based Radio Station of the Multimedia Group.

Below are the names of the individuals who used indecent expressions, the radio stations and the dates on which the expressions were made:

Insulting/ Offensive remarks ; Nii Kwatei Titus Glover, a member of the NPP Communication Team – during Hot FM’s Maakye programme of September 24, 2012 and Mr. Maxwell Kofi Djumah, NPP MP for Asokwa – during Adom FM’s Niamehunu Dwumadie programme of September 26.

Others are: Mr. Kojo Owusu of the NPP – during Classic FM’s Kokrokoo programme of September 26; Mr Kennedy Agyapong, NPP MP for Assin North – made 2 on his own radio station, Oman FM, during the station’s Boiling Point programme of September 25.

According to the statement Mr Agyapong, again on his own radio station, Oman FM, during the Boiling point programme of September 27; and Adom FM replayed an offensive remark during the Dwaso Nsem programme of September 24.

On the use of unsubstantiated allegations; Mr Atimo Amihere, an NDC supporter who called during Ankobra FM’s Breakfast Table programme of September 24; Mr. Simon Adom Boafo of the NDC – during Space FM’s Morning Flight programme of September 25; and Mr Kennedy Agyapong, NPP MP for Assin North – made 3 in a telephone interview on Classic FM’s Kokrokoo programme of September 26.

Mr. Martin Kwabena Yeboah of the NDC – during Classic FM’s Kokrokoo programme of September 26; and one Emmanuel, an NDC supporter who called (from Anyaa) during Radio Gold’s Tea Cup Segment of the Gold Power Drive programme of September 28.

On innuendoes Mr. Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development – in a telephone interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem programme of September 25; Mr. Titus Aikins of the NDC – during Ankobra FM’s Breakfast Table programme of September 28; and one Agyei, an NPP supporter who called (from Dansoman) during Peace FM’s Kokrokoo programme (phone-in segment) of September 28.

The MFWA monitoring electoral campaign language on radio is a project funded by STAR-Ghana.

The main objective of the project is to contribute to issues-based and decent language campaigning during the December polls.