Journalists being paid to attack anti-graft colleagues – Mahama

Former President John Mahama has bemoaned what he says is the weakened approach by the media in the fight against corruption in the country.

According to him, some media practitioners are paid to vilify their colleagues who are working hard to expose graft in the country.

“The media have a key role to play in the fight against corruption it is, therefore, sad that when a media person has investigated issues to do with corruption and is exposing such rot it is his own colleagues that are also media persons who are paid to vilify him and attack him. This is a paradox of our situation,” Mr Mahama said at 88th Annual National Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission Ghana.

He added: “The media in chapter 12 of our Constitution is given the role of a watchdog, a watchdog is a dog that guards your property against thieves and so the constitution says the media shall be the watchdogs of the people over government to make sure government does the right thing and does not misuse our money and yet you find in many cases where the media is rather the watchdog of government against the people. And that is also a paradox of the situation we face currently.”

Mr. Mahama also urged religious and traditional leaders to be bold in criticising what he says is the worrying levels of nepotism and corruption in Ghana today.

“Nepotism doesn’t become right because a different government is in power and our religious and traditional leaders must have the courage to speak up against it”.