Constitutional Review Committee engages journalists, social media community

The Constitution Review Committee (CRC) tasked to propose amendments to Ghana’s 1992 Constitution Wednesday engaged with journalists and the social media community to ensure that the review process encompassed diverse views from all stakeholders.

Speaking at the forum, Professor Amin Alhassan, the Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), said despite the growing influence of social networks, there remained a critical need for public-interest media like the GBC, which prioritised national welfare over profit.

He said government and public broadcasters could play a role in curbing misinformation and offering reliable content that served the national good.

“And that is even in a case where everybody has access to social media, you will see a social media platform that is trustworthy. And that cannot be subjected to the private interest of the owner of the platform,” he said.

“And that is what GBC does. It is to cure the tendency for the private own media to seek their private interests.”  

Prof Alhassan called for strategic investment in radio broadcasting to strengthen Ghana’s democratic process.

He advocated improved funding for GBC to enhance the capacity of radio to deliver diverse, accessible and accurate information to all citizens, reinforcing the vital role that public broadcasting played in national development and social cohesion.

Ms Rebecca Ekpe, Public Affairs Officer, Ghana Journalists Association, raised concerns over media regulatory bodies and their mandates, for instance the National Media Commission and National Communication Authority, which must be clearly defined.

She said there was the need to tackle misinformation and disinformation, which threatened Ghana’s media ecosystem and democracy, as part of the amendment of the Constitution.

Mr Suleiman Braiman, the Executive Director, Media Foundation for West Africa, stated that about 70 per cent of radio stations in the country were owned by politicians, sometimes used to push their political party interests.

He expressed concern over the growing trend of using social media as tools for committing fraud, money doubling, and sale of all kinds of herbal concoctions.

He, therefore, urged members of the CRC to look at some of the media-related provisions of the Constitution and how they could be amended to deal with media content and securing frequency authorisation from the National Communication Authority.

Other speakers at the forum called on the CRC to look at issues of media guidelines, social media, media content, and hate speeches among others.

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