Be careful of fake news in the system - Oppong Nkrumah

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information has cautioned the public against the deliberate churning out of fake news to cause disaffection.

He charged the mainstream media to assist in stemming the tide by denouncing such untruths and exaggerations.

Mr. Nkrumah was virtually addressing the 2020 National Public Relations and Communications Summit and the 27th Annual General Meeting in Ho.

It was on the theme, “The Future-Fit PR Practitioner: Post COVID-19.

He encouraged the Ghanaian population to make time to “verify things you see flying on social networks so that you are the protector of the kind of information that you consume. That way, you can be more trusting to be consuming more reliable information.

Mr. Nkrumah called on leaders of media organisations to continuously engage with the ministry and align their plans and programmes to elicit the necessary support towards developing a stronger policy framework for nation-building.

On the implementation of the Right To Information (RTI) law, he said the ministry had recruited and trained about 100 information officers to provide timely information to the population in addition to equipping the departments with tools to enhance their work.

He said a number of platforms had been established at the Ministry to ensure government communication was regularly available, accessible, and transparent, and detailed for the various publics.

He said the summit was relevant as it set the stage to update skills and innovate, in view of the complexities of information communication technology to overcome the hurdles of PR.

The minister said the profession has its high and low points, but the COVID-19 pandemic had placed the sector even at the front-burner, assisting to deepen and uphold compliance for prevention protocols and instructions for defeating the virus, while commending all.

He expressed indignation for the continuous delay of the passage of the IPR Bill still undergoing fine-tuning and appealed to the group to up their game.

He expects an issue-based campaign in the run-up to the elections devoid of rancour, acrimony and violence while urging participants and Ghanaians to continue to observe the safety health protocols as the pandemic surges.

Mr. Alhassan Andani, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Stanbic Bank said all professions are undergoing metamorphosis as a result of the shift and changing times urging businesses to reposition and continue to be relevant knowing that “image is everything.”

He said the “world is shifting, all professions should shift accordingly, too.”

Mr. Andani said the new normal is platform business and was elated that many banks and other institutions are responding appropriately.

He said the future fitness phenomenon cuts across all spheres, which demands analytical minds, creativeness, and innovation and never rely on the past.

Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu, President of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) of Ghana said the essence of the meeting was to reflect, to consider and interrogate all the key emerging development issues affecting the practice of public relations in this abnormal times based on notable standards of communication, quality engagement and pursue of professional PR.

He said grabbing the opportunities offered by the future with adequate preparation and upscaling of skill sets would serve as the catalyst to secure the highest level of the corporate world.

He said IPR as an institution had a critical role to play in the standards process adding "it behooves practitioners to put their best foot forward to embrace the change that has arrived.”

Deserving professionals were conferred with accreditation and associates membership and inducted into the fraternity of the Association of Public Relation (APR).