Prof Kwame Karikari Unmaske

d…… His reign as DG of GBC Considered Dark Days

for Press Freedom

Prof. Kwame Karikari, the Executive Director of Media Foundation for West

Africa and former Director-General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, is

one man who has consistently professed to be proponent of media freedom.

But a cursory look into his activities over the past few years leaves much

to be desired.

Prof. Kwame Karikari served as Director-General of the GBC from 1982 to

1984, and during his tenure, private newspapers such as the Catholic

Standard, the Ashanti Pioneer and many others, were banned from the

editorial review on GBC.

The editorials of these newspapers were completely banned from being read

on all GBC networks because Prof. Karikari saw their editorial policy as

very critical of the government at the time, and subsequently, recommended

for the closure of these media houses.

His activities as Director-General of GBC were seen by many as very

repressive to press freedom and free speech, and many lovers of press

freedom were not surprised when he was booted out of GBC for general lack

of leadership, mismanagement, incompetence.

It was this same Prof. Kwame Karikari who supervised the anti-free speech

regulations introduced at the Daily Graphic during the reign of

ex-President Kufuor in 2002.

At that time, the Daily Graphic employees’ rights to free speech were

curtailed through recommendations by Prof Karikari during the reign of Yaw

Boadu-Ayeboafo as the editor. And Alhaji A.B.A. Fuseini became the victim.

During the time, Alhaji A. B. A. Fuseini was part of the Radio Gold

“Alhaji & Alhaji” programme, which Kufour did not like. He, therefore,

used the management of the GCGL at the time to pass a regulation banning

employees of the company from going to Radio Stations to comment on

political issues.

To enforce Kufuor’s decision, the GCGL management set up a committee, under

the leadership of Prof. Kwame Karikari , and the recommendation by the

committee banned workers of Graphic Corporation from exercising their

right to free speech.

Professor Kwame Karikari has carried himself as a proponent of press

freedom but his records show otherwise. And it is ironic that such man is

in charge of Media Foundation for Africa.

His overt display of disdain for the Mills Administration against the

ethics of his profession has become a matter of public concern.

When NPP hoodlums attacked “Asempa FM” recently, nobody heard a word from

Prof. Kwame Karikari, and yet, when the government communications team

boycotted Multimedia for NPP’s uncivilized attacks on press freedom, Kwame

Karikari suddenly regained his lost voice, and claimed that government

decision is an attack on media practice.

Prof. Kwame Karikari is a direct beneficiary of government largess but he

never misses an opportunity to show his open disdain for the NDC government.

As a consultant to the Freedom of Information Bill, and a direct

beneficiary of government largess, it is expected that he does not allow

his political party affiliation to mar the beauty of the organization he

represents.

The True Statesman

info@thetruestatesman.org