When truth becomes a spectator in public debate, credibility collapses, and nations quietly lose their moral balance.
INTRODUCTION: THE CALL FOR CALM AND FACTUAL CONVERSATION
Ghana stands at a delicate crossroads where facts must reclaim their rightful place above factions. Over the last fourteen months, our national dialogue, especially around some state institutions such as MIIF, has shown how easily perception can masquerade as proof.
The media’s role remains indispensable, and so too is its responsibility to verify before amplifying. As a nation that is increasingly striving for transparency and progress, we cannot allow conjecture to replace confirmation or let alternative facts fracture institutional credibility. Truth must be told, traced, verified, and protected.
As the former non-executive chair of a number of institutions, including MIIF and the now further transformed Labadi Beach Hotel, I remain invested in their fortunes because stewardship does not end with tenure.
Even well-run bodies pursue continuous improvement through dialogue with proven past executives and supervisory leaders. That is the spirit of Kaizen. Progress implies learning, not wrongdoing.
WHY MEDIA ENGAGEMENT MATTERS
It serves the public interest for media houses to invite current and former chief executives, including those at MIIF, individually or jointly, to present clear accounts to the public or, where necessary, in private. Investigations into potential wrongdoing must proceed. They are strongest when principals place documents, timelines, and decisions on the table for all to see. Transparency grows when all voices are heard, not in anger, but in accountability. Journalism is not the amplification of suspicion. It is the clarification of truth.
FAIRNESS AND ETHICS IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE
Anyone mentioned or implicated should be approached and afforded the opportunity to present their side of the facts before their names enter the headlines. Due process is not a courtesy. It is the foundation of trust and credibility.
Ghana’s media space is admired for its freedom and vibrancy. Freedom must walk with fairness. A democracy that weaponises perception risks turning truth tellers into targets and institutions into casualties.
A TEACHABLE MOMENT FOR MEDIA AND PUBLIC DIALOGUE
On October 4, during a JoyNews programme, a representative from the Bank of Ghana called in to correct an alternative fact about MIIF. It was unfortunate and regrettable. I felt for the distinguished interviewer who was placed in a difficult position in real time.
Such moments, even when unintentional, show the need for evidence based dialogue in our national discourse. Media remains one of democracy’s greatest guardians. With that power comes a duty to report with accuracy, balance, and fairness. Before any public institution or individual is discussed, it is right and ethical to approach the parties concerned to clarify or present their side of the facts. Balanced reporting requires facts, not fragments.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF ALTERNATIVE FACTS
A single broadcast can illuminate or inflame. When conjecture replaces confirmation, institutions suffer, reputations erode, and public trust falters. The spread of alternative facts is already affecting some state institutions and private citizens.
If left unchecked, it may discourage capable Africans from accepting national duty and from transferring critical skills to the public sphere. Ghana’s media landscape has the talent and influence to set a higher standard, one where integrity in reporting becomes the oxygen of national progress rather than a casualty of political heat. Credibility must never be sacrificed for sensational reach.
ACKNOWLEDGING CIVIC WATCHDOGS AND CALLING FOR BALANCE
IMANI and some of its researchers and Fellows deserve commendation for aspects of their work that have contributed to national awareness and accountability. At the same time, all civic actors must remain cautious about the reliability and motivation of sources.
The critical question for every whistleblower or informant is simple. Are they acting in the national interest, or in pursuit of personal or political gain? Investigative and policy advocacy communities should work together for the common good, not for institutional applause.
Oversight must be objective, not opportunistic. Otherwise, even well-intended initiatives can erode confidence in state institutions and weaken the collective pursuit of good governance.
THE DANGER OF FALSE WHISTLEBLOWING AND MISINFORMATION
Whistleblowers who peddle falsehoods for selfish interests should be publicly exposed to deter the furnishing of watchdogs and media houses with alternative facts that advance private agendas.
Where the law so provides, they should be held accountable, including possible prosecution for causing reputational or economic harm to state institutions and individuals. Truthful whistleblowing strengthens democracy. Dishonest whistleblowing poisons it. The legitimacy of transparency depends on the authenticity of those who claim to defend it.
CONTINUITY AND GOVERNANCE PRACTICE
In many state institutions, current and former non-executive chairs and chief executives have yet to meet face-to-face. MIIF is among them. In my capacity as former Chairman of MIIF, I have formally requested such a meeting with my successor.
I am still waiting and looking forward to the meeting. The absence of a meeting does not prevent investigation. It does, however, create room for confusion and weakens institutional memory. Good governance requires more than handover notes. Outgoing and incoming leaders should meet to discuss long term obligations, risk registers, projects in progress, and matters of continuity. This discipline preserves facts, limits speculation, and protects national value.
MULTIPLE NARRATIVES, ONE NATIONAL CONSEQUENCE
Over the last 36 weeks, multiple narratives have circulated across television, radio, and social media. However unintended, they risk harming MIIF’s credibility and, by extension, Ghana’s reputation for continuity, integrity and predictability. Markets price uncertainty, and citizens ultimately bear the cost of it.
When narrative outpaces evidence, risk premia rise, partnerships stall, and managers spend time responding to noise rather than delivering results. Truth delayed can become opportunity denied.
LESSONS ON TRUST AND NATIONAL BRAND
Misinformation may garner applause in the short term, but it ultimately inflicts lasting damage. Nations build trust through facts, not factions. Institutions like MIIF form part of the scaffolding for future prosperity.
We should not chip away at that structure with politicisation or partial information. The Ghana brand and its associated institutional brands must be protected by facts, not by alternative facts.
NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, NOT POLITICAL TROPHIES
State institutions are not assets of the government of the day, and they are not trophies for the opposition. They belong to Ghana and therefore to all of us. We cannot spend years building credibility with one hand and then weaken it with misinformation and partisanship with the other.
The public interest is best served when facts lead and when all parties respect due process. Today, former chairs and chief executives may be under the spotlight. In four or eight years, current leaders could face the same scrutiny. All deserve fair treatment.
Those found guilty of deliberate wrongdoing should face the consequences. Accountability must rest on actual facts, not on alternative or self-serving narratives.
GOVERNANCE IS ABOUT CONTINUITY, NOT CONTROL
Governance is not about control. It is about continuity. It is not about who occupies the seat, but about whether the seat serves the people. Leadership is tested not by the defence of power, but by the defence of process. When facts are buried beneath political dust, institutions stumble and nations lose their rhythm of progress.
MOVING FROM HEAT TO LIGHT
Respected newsrooms can help move the national conversation from heat to light. The best journalism promotes understanding rather than echo. A balanced, fact led discussion may not resolve every question at once, but it will sharpen debate, model accountability, and rebuild confidence. This is a service to citizens and to those who carry responsibilities on the nation’s behalf.
RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM SERVES GHANA
This is not theatre, and it is not trial by microphone. It is responsible reporting in the public interest. It safeguards reputations where warranted and exposes wrongdoing where proven. Either outcome serves Ghana. Standards and fairness are not obstacles to truth; they are the pathway to it.
A SHARED DUTY TO LOWER THE TEMPERATURE AND RAISE THE STANDARD
This is a respectful request to media leaders, public officials, private citizens, and all who care about our democracy. We are duty-bound to help the current administration govern well by doing what is right, because when any government fails, the cost is borne by everyone and by future generations. Suffering does not choose a party.
Let us therefore lower the temperature and raise the standard. Let us listen more carefully, document more faithfully, and verify more completely. Let us invite those who know to speak on the record, and let us publish the full record for the nation to examine. We are one people. We should not allow politics to divide us where facts can unite us.
FINAL REFLECTION AND A HOPEFUL NOTE
Real facts, not alternative facts, must set the pace.
Let documents speak.
Let truth breathe.
Let fairness guide our words and our work.
Ghana has the talent, the institutions, and the democratic culture to get this right.
If we choose patience over haste, evidence over conjecture, and country over faction, we will strengthen trust at home and respect abroad. That is the surest path to shared progress. Ghana deserves nothing less, and with calm minds and steady hands, Ghana will achieve nothing less.
By Professor Douglas Boateng
