Newspapers in Ghana must be affordable again – Yeboah-Afari

The Chairperson of the Editors’ Forum Ghana, Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, is advocating an appreciable reduction in taxes for newspaper production inputs so that newspapers in Ghana can be affordable again.

Speaking at the commemoration of World Press Freedom day 2016 by the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA), the National Media Commission and UNESCO at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra, Ms Yeboah-Afari lamented the fact that the economic situation had put the newspapers out of the reach of many Ghanaians and said access to information in Ghana should also mean the affordability of newspapers since papers do not always go online when they fold up due to low circulation.

“While we continue to ask questions about the long delay of the freedom of information bill, another aspect of the access issue is that our newspapers are getting more and more expensive.”

“Here in Ghana we may have achieved the independence and the pluralism, but as a print journalist principally, I can’t help but mourn the dwindling numbers of newspaper buyers and readers. It is obvious that at GH¢2.50 a copy, for many people buying a newspaper has become a luxury and an unaffordable one,” the former GJA President said.

World Press Freedom Day 2016, marks the 250th anniversary of the first freedom of information law passed in Sweden and the 25th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration on Press Freedom Principles, adopted in Namibia in 1991.

Despite recent reports indicating a decline in press freedom in Ghana and the world, the leadership of the GJA said that Ghana’s media climate was highly favourable to free expression and worth celebrating as Ghana remains one of the freest jurisdictions for the media in Africa.

The association however reiterated its call for the passage of the right to information law and the enhancement of the media’s operations.

“It is the association’s contention that a free flow of credible information is an asset in good governance. Mechanisms such as the right to information law therefore, need to be enacted so that the media can carry out their monitoring role both effectively and efficiently and at the same time be subjected to public scrutiny that will aid self-regulation and promote media accountability,” the GJA President, Roland Affail-Monney said.

“In the scheme of things, it is also fair to say we need to take advantage of press freedom to bring about the necessary qualitative change with regards to issues such as media content, sanitization of the airwaves, greater transparency in the allocation of frequencies and training of media personnel and the like.”

In a show of solidarity with press freedom in Ghana, the Ambassador of the EU, Mr William Hanna said while many journalists across the world had lost their lives in the line of duty, he was not sure if he could talk about the issue if he was in another country.

Mr Tirso Dos Santos, head of the UNESCO Ghana office, who delivered the message of the UNESCO Director General’s message, said that a journalist is killed every five days.

“This cannot stand, and guided by the UN plan of action on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, UNESCO is working with governments around the world to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers everywhere.”

“Access to information is a fundamental freedom and part of the basic human right to freedom of expression. Receiving and imparting information both offline and online, is a cornerstone to democracy, good governance and the rule of law,” he said.