'Meet The Press' useless, abolish it now’- Political Science Lecturer

A Professor of Political Science with the University of Ghana has said the annual media encounter by successive Ghanaian presidents has outlived its usefulness and must be abolished as a matter of governance policy.

According to Prof. Ransford Edward Gyampo, the presidential media encounter has over the years been reduced to a mere talking point and serves as a propaganda tool for incumbent governments.

The lecturer was speaking in reference to Wednesday January 17, 2018 edition of the media encounter by President Akufo Addo to mark one year of his administration.

This is the second time the President is meeting the press since he ascended the Presidency on January 7, 2016.

A similar exercise was conducted in July 2017.

But Ransford Gyampo insists, ‘since president Kufour (John Agyekum) initiated the media encounter, every other president has continued to hold it without introducing new dimensions to it.’

‘It appears the questions and answers are already prepared before the main event and besides I don’t see the journalists present vigorously interrogating government programs and policies.’

He adds, ‘the media have since the inception of this encounter been used as a tool to propagate government’s agenda, and to praise the government, no serious engagement goes on there.’