Ghana

Policy advocates question what measures are in place to ensure an effective implementation of the Right to Information law amidst critical concerns about how well citizens and the media know the law, and how aware government officials are regarding their obligations under the law.

Compelling, in-depth investigative features are being produced by West African journalists through an MFWA programme support for critical, independent and high-quality reports on issues of governance, accountability and transparency.

Findings in the latest MFWA Media and Governance Series policy brief reveal that unreliable internet service, high cost of data services and sexual harassment serve as barriers that prevent women from exploiting the huge potential the internet offers for self-empowerment and overall development.

The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has adopted a new framework aimed at fostering a better relationship between the Service and the media, following a year-long series of multi-stakeholder processes facilitated by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).

MFWA has condemned members of Ghana’s Glorious Wave International Church for their assault on journalist Della Russell Ocloo, who was covering a protest against the church’s head pastor, Prophet Badu Kobi.

Twenty years after the first draft, Ghanian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo–Addo assented to the Right to Information (RTI) Act which was passed by Parliament earlier this year.

The Media Foundation for West Africa is concerned by the Ghanian authorities’ selective application of regulations resulting in the closure of 2 radio stations aligned to the opposition.

Police officers involved in an altercation with journalists following a minor road accident have been suspended while an investigation is carried out. MFWA are encouraged by the action taken by the Ghana Police Service to improve the relationship between the media and the police.

While celebrating the passing of Ghana’s Right to Information Bill, MFWA is encouraging stakeholders to put their weight behind ensuring the effective implementation of the newly passed law.

An interesting new initiative by the Media Foundation for West Africa allows local communities to use radio to engage with local authorities and address critical developmental issues ranging from lack of water to rates of unemployment.

The Media Foundation of West Africa believes the recent cold blooded murder of Ahmed Hussein Suale lays bare three critical challenges around the safety of journalists in Ghana.

Ahmed Hussein Suale reportedly died instantly after being shot in the chest and neck by gunmen who were reported to have sped away on motor bicycles after the act

The Media Foundation for West Africa provides its take on the annual press briefing more familiarly known as the Presidential Media Encounter.

In responding to a fellow cleric during a radio interview, a pastor lost his temper, insulted and abused the interviewer and damaged studio property.

Accra’s Human Rights Court has uphelds journalist Ohemaa Sakyiwaa’s right to file an assault case against her attack by a member of Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Over the last two weeks in May, two journalists and a civil society activist were verbally abused and threatened while on assignment.