The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has petitioned the Ministry of Communication over guidelines by the Information Services Department (ISD) which it (MFWA) considers an affront on free expression.
The said guidelines require correspondents of foreign media on filming assignments in Ghana to among other things, be accompanied by officials of the ISD to ensure that they operate within laid down regulations.
According to the directive, film production crew who visit the country ought to forward a copy of their final production to the ISD through their respective missions before the film could be aired publicly.
It stated, “The Government of Ghana has noted with grave concern the situation whereby foreign media houses screen documentaries on Ghana which impact negatively on the image of the country.”
The statement further added that “Granting of permits for filming in Ghana will therefore depend on the acceptance of these conditions,”
But Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of MFWA in an August 10, 2015 petition addressed to the Ministry of Communication, stated that the directive was quite absurd and an act of direct media censorship that makes a mockery of Ghana’s status as one of the most progressive countries in media freedom.
It stated that media practitioners for local or foreign media organisations should not be subjected to different conditions for news gathering and usage, so long as they operate within the confines of appropriate laws regulating the industry.
“We are surprised that in this day and age, journalists will be required to submit their work to a state body for pre-screening. This is a practice common in repressive regimes and under dictatorships,” Mr. Braimah emphasized.
The petition, copied to the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC) and the Director, ISD, maintained that Ghana’s 1992 Constitution frowns on censorship and makes that clear in Article 162(2) where it states that “Subject to this Constitution and any other law not inconsistent with this constitution, there shall be no censorship in Ghana.”
Mr. Braimah further noted that the prohibition of censorship as spelt out in the Constitution, was not limited to local journalists working for the local media.
He said editors of media organizations – foreign or local – have the prerogative to decide the content to be broadcast or published by their organisations and they should not be subjected to any form of controls by state or non-state actors.
“We note that the ISD notice refers to ‘laid down regulations’ which its guidelines are apparently seeking to enforce. If such regulations exist, we urge the ISD to make them public,” he charged.
MFWA has urged the ministry to take the necessary action to scrap what it described as “this obnoxious policy which is a dark spot on Ghana’s press freedom record.”
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