Political parties cautioned against tribalism

A former Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr. Paul Adu-Gyamfi, has called on politicians to avoid any temptation to incite tribal sentiments for political expediency.

He said this could fuel division and become a recipe for social unrest and counterproductive to the nation’s development agenda.

Mr. Adu-Gyamfi said he was unhappy with the manner some political leaders conducted their electioneering campaigns during the December 7 polls.

He said asking voters to give them their mandate simply on the basis of ethnic background was unhelpful to the growth of the country’s nascent democracy.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion on the recent elections in Kumasi, the former NMC Chairman said it was important to draw useful lessons from the mayhem wreaked on some other countries by ethnocentrism.

The programme was organized jointly by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), STAR-Ghana and KAB Governance Consult.

“Using the media to enhance the transparency and credibility of the 2012 election”, was the theme.

It provided the platform for journalists and stakeholders to reflect on the coverage of the polls with the view to drawing important lessons from it.

It was also to help identify what could be done to build the capacity of the media for effective performance.

Mr. Adu-Gyamfi reminded the media of its critical role in ensuring peace and unity.

Mr. Bright Blewu, the GJA General-Secretary, gave high marks to journalists for the good job they did to promote peaceful polls and urged them to continue to maintain high standards of professionalism.