Deputy Information visits media houses in Sunyani

Sunyani, June 30, GNA - Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Deputy Minister of Information, on Thursday rounded off her three-day of the Brong-Ahafo Region with visits to five media houses in Sunyani. They are Ghana News Agency (GNA), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), SKY FM Radio, Graphic Communications Group and New Times Corporation.

At GNA Mr Charles Koomson, the Regional Manager, told the Deputy Minister that the regional office was doing its best in terms of coverage of the region in the face of lack of certain basic facilities, the most prominent being the lack of means of transport. Mr Koomson said for the past 20 years the regional offices of the agency had been operating without means of transport and appealed to the Deputy Minister to intervene to improve the situation.


Mr Koomson said the Brong-Ahafo is a vast region and ''it is a Herculean task for the regional office to adequately cover it without its own means of transport.'' "This is in relation to the fact that we are always prompted by The Regional Manager cited an instance two years ago when a reporter detailed to cover an assignment at Banda-Ahenkro got stuck at Wenchi. He had to return disappointed to Sunyani after being told that the private commercial vehicle that would take him to his destination would take off at 1500 hours when the assignment was scheduled for 0900 hours.


He described the incident as unfortunate, adding it was not an isolated case with reporters in the region who rely on private commercial vehicles to cover assignments outside Sunyani. Mr Koomson said the regional office therefore relies mostly on stringers, most of whom are personnel of Ghana Education Service and their stories could not be crosschecked.

Mr Koomson appealed to the government to help Ghana News Agency to perform and achieve the aims and objectives for which it was established in the First Republic. Ms. Botchwey commended GNA for the "remarkable performance" in the face of all these problems and urged the staff to keep it up the good work and promised that the Ministry would do its best "to support your efforts".


At SKY FM radio station, the Deputy Minister interacted with Mr. Kwasi Agyei, the Manager, who informed her that the station had not been charging for programmes on religion, health insurance and education as it aimed at helping the government in public education. At New Times Corporation, Mr Gabriel Kornyo, the Manager, told the Deputy Minister the office was operating without telephone facility as it had been disconnected for non-payment of bills.


Mr Charles Bampoe, the Regional Manager of Graphic Communications Group, promised the company would continue to play its expected role in national development.