President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to work closely with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to restore Ghana’s standing as a model of press freedom, not only within West Africa but across the continent.
Addressing a GJA delegation that paid him a courtesy call on Friday, September 4, 2025, the president expressed worry over Ghana’s consistent decline in the World Press Freedom Index.
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President Mahama stressed that the harassment of journalists, coupled with the high-profile killing of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale and subsequent attacks on media practitioners, have contributed significantly to Ghana’s slipping press freedom status.
“The consistent decline in our international rankings is an issue of concern to us, and part of it is because of issues to do with harassment of journalists and even the unfortunate murder of Ahmed Suale, which caught international attention. Since then, other issues have occurred,” he said.
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He reaffirmed his commitment to working hand in hand with the GJA to ensure that Ghana reclaims its pride of place in global press freedom rankings.
Ghana currently occupies the 52nd position out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, a development that has raised serious concerns about the safety of journalists and the overall state of media freedom in the country.
JKB/BAI
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