General News of 2012-08-14

It is annoying to be insulted by people paid with our taxes

Professor Kwame Karikari, the Executive Director of Media Foundation for West Africa, whose body for the last three months has been monitoring the media for the use indecent language by politicians, has said that political discourse in the country was dominated by unsubstantiated allegations.

“According to our monitoring exercise, there has been some decline in some of the categories of abusive language that we are complaining about. One particular category of expression that prevails predominantly is unsubstantiated allegations, that is, people saying things against other people without any substance, without any truth, without any basis,” he stated.

He was speaking on Election Headquarters on Joy FM Tuesday. He insisted that the unsubstantiated allegations are worse and more injurious than insults.

The allegations, he added, can be slanderous, libelous and scandalous and there is evidence of “how some people from opposing political parties have vilified political leaders of opposing parties with allegations that fly in the face of any truth or fact.”

Interestingly, the use of ethnic slurs, Professor Karikari noted, where people use prejudicial statements against one tribe or the other is rare which “indicates how strongly integrated we are as a people along inter-ethnic relations.”

He said although it does not mean that Ghanaians do not engage in tribal politics, “we have come to accept that as a no go area.”

Touching on President John Mahama's caution to his communications team to avoid using indecent language and also urging political parties to discourage their supporters from using insulting language against their opponents, he said it was a laudable call.

Prof. Karikari, said whilst it might be tolerable for unofficial persons to use indecent language, he was revolted at the situation where government appointees who paid with the tax payers' money did same, citing, Presidential Spokespersons, the Ministry of Information, and other government spokespersons. He wants the President to development a new ethos to address the issue.

Publisher and Editor of the Accra Mail, Alhaji Haruna Attah speaking on the matter was of the view that it is the leadership that sets the tone for their followers and therefore “the people who claim to be talking for [the president] or his government must follow his style.”

He was delighted that civil society organizations like the Media Foundation for West Africa were publishing weekly reports on their monitoring of the use of intemperate language on media platforms.

Haruna Attah advocated the immediate sacking of ministers or spokespersons who violate the president's directive.

The editor challenged the media to find ways of reporting “verbal diarrhoea” professionally so as not to multiply the use of such intemperate language.

Mr Kwesi Amakye, a Political Science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology stressed that the President “can make a difference,” adding that his directive, if obeyed, can lead to the demise of the politics of insults in the country.

He urged the President to take responsibility for actions and inaction of people who speak for him.

The Political Science lecturer said the society should punish political parties and presidential candidates “who fail to rein in their supporters.”