Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister has called on the media "to use its power" to educate the electorate and promote peace in this year's general elections.
He said the year would be characterized by the usual heated political campaigns and in some cases unacceptable utterances, which tend to mar the beauty of political rivalry.
Alhaji Sulemana, who made the call at a press soiree in Wa, advised the media to to avoid repeating unfortunate utterances to prevent inflaming passions.
“Some political parties and their cohorts will like to infiltrate the ranks of the media and try to influence you to do their bidding and in doing so you may lose sight of your professionalism and carry out acts that are detrimental to the peace of the region and the country in general”, he said.
He said a case in point was when some radio stations allowed their airwaves to be used to preach religious hatred and disenchantment.
“This is unacceptable and must be condemned in no uncertain terms”, he said.
Alhaji Sulemana said the country was not immune to conflicts, and that, there was the need to guard against reckless statements on the airwaves, which has the potential to trigger civil strife and violence.
“I will urge you to put the interest of the peace and stability of the region above any other consideration in the discharge of your duties. I also call for professionalism, circumspection and fairness in the discharge of your duties”, Alhaji Sulemana advised.
He said in 2015, the region went through a lot of challenges, such as falling standards in education, as most districts were recording poor passes in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in recent past.
The Regional Minister announced that the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) was planning to organise an educational forum to brainstorm on the causes of this increasing decline in educational performance and fashion out strategies on how to address them.
“Another challenge is the setback in the conservation of the environment as a result of illegal mining and felling of trees for charcoal, and of late the logging of rosewood tree in the region”.
Mr. Bajin D. Pobia, Upper West Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association called on his colleagues to be guided by the ethics of the profession and avoid acts that would dent the image of the profession in the region.
He said Journalists and media practitioners owe it a duty to behave responsibly in order not to jeopardize the peace of the nation, especially in this election year.
