The President of the Ghana Journalist Association, Mr. Albert Dwumfour, has expressed shock and disappointment in the comments of the National Media Commission Chairman, Dr. Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, who disagrees with the GJA over a directive issued by the Association to Media Houses to blacklist two Members of Parliament (MPs) over assaults on some journalists.
He described the posture of the NMC Chairman as unfortunate because the GJA exhausted all relevant processes before issuing its directive. Mr. Dwumfour expected the NMC Chairman to have first inquired and ascertained what informed the GJA’s decision before his criticism.
The NMC Chairman, who was speaking at a workshop for journalists in Kumasi, condemned the assaults on journalists and asked that victims access legal avenues to fight such acts of impunity against journalists.
However, the President of GJA, Albert Dwumfour, said he is shocked and disappointed in the comments of the NMC Chairman. He described the posture of the NMC Chairman as unfortunate because the GJA
exhausted all relevant processes before issuing its directive.
Mr. Albert Dwumfour explained that in every extraordinary situation, you take extraordinary decisions. We see this situation in which the media finds itself as abnormal, and in abnormal situations, you don’t need a
dysfunctional or functional mind to treat abnormal situations.
The GJA President added that he needs to deal with it abnormally, and that is the position of the GJA. To him, the NMC failed to promote and ensure the independence and freedom of the media in this
country.
According to the GJA President, it is the responsibility of the NMC to provide an enabling environment for journalists to thrive. But more often, we see the NMC sanctioning journalists and media houses to go and apologize or go and do this or that, and we wanted to know if the NMC has ever sanctioned perpetrators of an attack on journalists.
The GJA President believes it is in the collective interest of Ghanaians to amplify voices against attacks on journalists while perpetrators are brought to book.
