Ghana presidential election: RSF issues five recommendations to ensure respect for press freedom

Despite Ghana’s dynamic media environment and its ranking at 50th place in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index, the situation for journalists and the media is far from perfect.

As the country just elected John Dramani Mahama, the opposition candidate and head of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party who led Ghana from 2012 to 2017, RSF calls on the new president to guarantee full press freedom by promoting journalism. RSF recalls that in September, an NDC MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, promised to “repeal all anti-press freedom laws and reverse the current climate of fear” facing the media if elected.

Keeping journalists safe is still the biggest challenge facing the new authorities. In November alone, two attacks were documented: police officers, a bailiff, and an auctioneer invaded the offices of the Ignite Media Group (IMG) during a broadcast, and a Channel One TV journalist was interrupted and verbally assaulted by a parliamentarian while he was broadcasting live.

Mob raids on media outlets are not isolated events: in 2023, the offices of the private broadcaster United TV were stormed by about 20 ruling party supporters during a broadcast, and a presenter from Dagbon FM was attacked by two assailants in his studio on World Press Freedom Day.

Environmental journalists are particularly targeted: on 20 October, three journalists from the media group Multimedia Group Limited were violently assaulted by about 10 men while they were reporting on a mining site in the south of the country. Another example was in January 2022, when about 12 men stormed the offices of the community radio station Radio Ada and attacked the presenter of a programme covering the state of the salt mining industry.

Five recommendations for the new president

RSF has issued five recommendations for Ghana’s new president, John Dramani Mahama, to protect journalists and the right to information:

1. Create a safer and more protective environment for journalists – particularly those covering environmental issues – by ending intimidation and attacks on journalists while they’re working.

2. Promote media independence by limiting the possibility for politicians to be majority shareholders or owners of a media outlet: a third of the country’s media outlets are owned by politicians or by people with ties to the leading political parties, and the content they produce is largely partisan.

3. Remove fees for access to information requests: The 2019 Right to Information Act allows for a fee to be charged if information is requested in a language other than English. Fees have been as high as $1,000, even if the information is already in English. This law prevents journalists from accessing the information they are seeking.

4. Redistribute state advertising transparently and fairly to improve journalists’ salaries. Currently, most private media are facing financial difficulties, while state-owned media are awarded government advertising contracts.

5. End impunity for crimes against journalists by systematically opening investigations to prosecute the perpetrators, such as the case of investigative journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale, who was shot dead in the street. Almost six years later, the investigation is still stalled, and must move urgently forward to ensure justice is done.