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On Friday, the world celebrated World Press Freedom Day, and as usual, countries that respect free speech and democracy organised events to commemorate the day, which falls on May 3 every year.
At such events, speeches reflecting the theme of the occasion are made.
It is worthy of note that the global theme for 2024 is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis,” out of which the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has carved out the local one as “Leveraging Journalism for Sustainable Environment and Future.
The role of the media in modern life is very critical because every society has to be well-informed in order to move with time.
A well-informed society is able to understand issues of life, determine their roles as to their contributions to the ills, and decide what to do to advance the progress of society.
For instance, as the fourth estate of the realm, the media has a role to play in governance and, for that matter, democracy.
As the world marks WPFD, we congratulate all journalists around the world, but we extend special congratulations to Ghanaian journalists.
We commend the GJA for acknowledging the fact that environmental sustainability is key to Ghana’s progress and coaching a local theme that speaks to the huge environmental problems in Ghana.
We know the world faces a triple environmental crisis, comprising pollution, climate change, and the loss of biodiversity.
The speech of the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, captures some environmental worries in the country and so has to be commended.
We join in his call on the media to resume the concerted campaign against illegal mining.
We think, looking at the destruction of galamsey, that call has become so urgent, especially as it appears the fight against that environmental ill has considerably waned.
But galamsey is not the only problem.
Deforestation is equally serious, as it is rapidly contributing to the loss of biodiversity in the country.
There is a need to deal with all causes of biodiversity loss, including unbridled estate development.
There is a need for the government to adopt better housing policies to see an expansion of settlements.
Regarding pollution, we can say it is happening everywhere in the country, unchecked.
Emissions of carbon dioxide, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, and the like are rife.
The recently introduced emission tax appears to have good intentions, but that is not enough.
The government must take a serious view of environmental sanitation and surely check it, like in the olden days when sanitary inspectors could even visit homes and check cleanliness.
When it comes to climate change, it is said that third-world countries, including Ghana, are contributing less, yet we think that less is significant, especially when third-world countries appear not to have enough plans to check some of the causes, like bush burning for farming.
We pray that all stakeholders in environmental sustainability in Ghana will collectively do all they can to, at least, reduce environmental problems in the country.
Let Ghanaian journalists raise environmental issues and educate the public about them.
We also expect the government and its relevant agencies to up their game and sustain the environment for present and future generations.
Once again, congratulations to journalists on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.
We commend them for their contributions to national development.
