With the creation of a formal website to produce reliable and legitimate information for the public, particularly with relation to government, the Information Services Department (ISD) has taken a significant step to combat misinformation.
The website, www.ghanatoday.gov.gh, will offer trustworthy information from ministries, departments, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), as well as the government's programmes and projects, among other information about the state.
Communication
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, said yesterday in Accra that the website's launch was a step towards the ministry's dual goals of overseeing the ISD and helping MMDAs communicate efficiently and frequently.
He asserted that the role of government communications was to assist MMDAs in informing stakeholders about governance in a timely and regular manner. He said this function was carried out through the minister's press conferences, state of the region reports, state of the agencies reports, and the representation of government spokespersons on media platforms.
He said that the ministry's media support initiatives were created to aid in the development of a more robust media landscape for Ghanaian democracy.
According to him, this was accomplished through two programmes: the coordinated mechanism for the safety of journalists, which helps the National Media Commission (NMC) create a robust framework to safeguard journalists' work in the nation, and the media capacity enhancement programme, which offers financial support to industry players to train working journalists.
Additionally, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah stated that it was to oversee the application of the Right to Information Act, Act 989, and that "this has been done by deploying 250 information officers across MMDAs and supporting the Right to Information Commission to oversee and, where necessary, sanction MMDAs that fail to comply with the law".
Platform Once again, he explained that it would serve as a channel for feedback to be sent to the executive arm of government through routine scientific surveys carried out by the ISD's recently established research section.
In order to gather input and feedback for consideration in the design, implementation, and assessment of policies and programmes, it is also done by involving stakeholders at Town Hall Meetings and Policy Summits, according to the statement.
It should be emphasised that the state-owned media were protected from governmental control by the provisions of Article 167(C) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 2(1)(c) of the National Media Commission (NMC) Act, 1993 (Act 449). They are run by their boards and management, who are regulated by the NMC. A token representation function is performed by the Ministry of Information in Parliament.
To help Ghana News Agency launch a Business and Economic News Initiative, we have received a $3 million grant from the AfDB, which should improve it.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0