Repeal of Criminal libel law has expanded

The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Kenneth Dzirasah has said that the repeal of the criminal libel laws has expanded the frontiers of free speech making the Fourth Republic the most liberal environment for media freedom.

"Parliamentary reportage has suffered a checked history in this country and any time the parliamentary process suffers a set back as a result of military intervention, the parliamentary reporter is also relieved of his duties."

Dzirasah said this in a Keynote address at the opening of a two-day workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps in Accra. The workshop; on the theme, "the role of the Parliamentary Reporter in the Promotion of Good Governance," was sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Dzirasah said the workshop was taking place at a time when there was a vibrant debate over issues relating to good governance, adding that good governance as a political concept had attributes that covered the absence of arbitrary arrest, freedom of speech and expression and many other rights.

He said the media has a critical role in ensuring that those in whom the electorate had reposed trust to govern their affairs did so with utmost dedication and honesty. It was therefore not by chance that the media occupies the key position of being the fourth estate of the realm and as the watchdog and even the conscience of the people, he said.

"The media is expected to supervise the supervisor and to ensure that the leadership keeps faith with the people." Dzirasah said as a vehicle for self-expression, the media has responsibility to reflect public opinion and inform citizens in a balanced manner so as to guide the public to fashion out opinion on national issues.

He said there is a lot more coverage of parliamentary activities than there was in the past due to the advent of many more newspapers, particularly privately owned and also increased technology within the audio-visual medium for news dissemination.

"With improved access to the media as a result of improvement in information technology and communication, a large number of the public now participate in the activities of parliament than used to be the case," he added.

He said many more Ghanaians have become politically conscious of their rights and responsibilities and they seek the medium of the press to ventilate their concerns that also cover the work of parliament.

Dzirasah said the greatest challenge facing the media towards the promotion of good governance was the ability of the journalist to demonstrate fairness, firmness, objectivity and a high sense of balance in his reportage on issues generally.

Frank Agyekum, Spokesman on Governance said any wrong comment by the media can ruin the career of a politician and so there was the need for the press to be cautious in their reportage.

He said there was the need for the media to ensure that the modest gains made so far were protected and that the negatives aspects of the media are not allowed to mar their good performance.

Capt. Nkrabea Effah-Dartey ((Rtd), Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development said efficient parliamentary reporting was the bedrock of any democratic system since it was the base of expressing of opinions for the benefit of the people.

He said the electorate depend on the reports of the proceedings of parliament to make informed decisions and therefore rely on the parliamentary reporter to present accurate and balanced reports.

Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh, Editor of Daily Graphic delivered a paper on the topic "The Dilemma of the Parliamentary Reporter in relations to his Editor, S. N. Darkwa, Former Clerk of Parliament and John Agama, Deputy Clerk of Parliament were other resource persons.