President John Dramani Mahama has assured that his government would guarantee the right to free speech and expression of the citizenry as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.
President Mahama regrets Ghana’s decline on the press freedom index over the last eight years, stating that his government would work to restore Ghana’s vaunted reputation as a country where the right to free speech was upheld.
“I know that under the last administration, there were a lot of issues [that led to] we being downgraded on the press freedom index but together, we can work to restore Ghana to its pride of place in terms of media freedom and free expression,” the President Mahama stated.
The President gave this assurance at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday when the Institute of Public Relations – Ghana (IPR -Ghana) called on him.
The Executive Council of the IPR was at the seat of government to congratulate President Mahama, a member of the Institute, on his election as President of the Republic.
As part of a broader communication of government, he revealed that the Information Services Department (ISD) would be moved from the ambits of the Civil Service to the Office of the President.
According to President Mahama, the success or failure of any government was dependent on the efficiency of its interactions with the people and the department, if revamped and redirected, would be better placed to do so.
He explained that the decision to yank off the Ministry of Information and create an office for a minister of state in charge of government communication at the Office of the President was to have a coordinated approach to government information flow.
“One of the things that remain to be done is to bring the ISD under the presidency and modernise that organisation from a civil service organisation into a modern organisation that gives guaranteed information flow to the public in respect of whatever government is doing.
“The days of the cinema vans are gone. Now we have all kinds of instruments of communication. That department must be reformed,” President Mahama stated.
Led by Madam Esther Cobbah, the IPR assured of their unflinching support for the President and his government.
“The Institute is willing and ready to provide communication support towards the realisation of your national objective. Please call us and we’ll be here to support. We are part your army,” Madam Cobbah assured.
In a separate meeting with the Volta Regional Branch of the Christian Ecumenical Bodies, the President entreated the men of God to continue to be watchdogs of his government.
He urged them not to hesitate to draw his government’s attention to developments in government and “speak freely” and same would be taken as positive instrument to right the wrongs.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
