Editorial: Live and Lets Live

As at yesterday, the pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) rags, taking a cue from Hon. Mahama Ayariga and Zita Okaikoi, embarked upon a joint attack, unsurprisingly, against the Daily Guide, Crusading Guide and surprisingly the Ghanaian Times, for reporting on President John Evans Atta Mills� visit to the Ashanti Region. We dealt with the subject in yesterday�s editorial but have been compelled to return to it today because of deliberate distortions being brought to bear upon the reports through contemptuous damage control efforts. The three newspapers, as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, reported on not only what President Mills said in Obuasi but Mampong, as well as Kumasi Zongo. It is these reports which have ruffled the Presidency and prompted the President�s minders to run helter-skelter in search of controls to mitigate the effect of the remarks. We have, since the uproar and the accompanying damage control hoisted by the Mills minders over whether the President said �Ghanaians Complain Too Much� or did not say so publication, gone back viva voce to the report. We insist that whatever we wrote is literally what the Prof said. We would not be cowed to abandon a report we presented, based on what really transpired when President Mills spoke on what bothered him as he steers the affairs of the country. It is interesting to note that when Hon. Mahama Ayariga, Presidential Spokesperson addressed a press conference as part of the damage control mechanism, at which we were not invited, he said that the President�s speech was in response to his critics. The venues of the responses to his critics, both within and outside the NDC, being in the Ashanti Region, speak volumes about the pain in the President. He commented on the complaints by people that they do not have money in their pockets. Such complaints are made by Ghanaians and when Mr. President decides to react to such concerns by talking to some of them or all of them, it is only proper that we report such reaction. That was exactly what we did. We will honestly contend that we did not slant the report. It is a fact and we stand by the manner in which we handled the story and the preceding headline. The casting of headlines is fortunately our prerogative as a print medium and the presidency cannot, and we repeat, cannot, teach us how to do it. We had earlier stated that government should not engage in permanent propaganda because things can really go wrong, the repercussions of which can be negative. The President�s worry about people criticizing him over not having enough money in their pockets and expecting miracles in ten months may rightly be part of the benefits of what he sowed during the campaign season. He did promise a magic wand of sorts to deal with what he considers the challenges of the average Ghanaian. Need they not therefore expect this magic within ten months? We only reported what transpired and not commented as in an editorial, and would appreciate it if our story could be understood along this line. We have been pleasantly surprised at the barking of the toothless hounds let loose by the presidency over a straightforward story bereft of commentary. The hounds have yelled their voices hoarse as they churn out endless propaganda on the airwaves and in NDC rags called newspapers. For sure, we are privy to the complaints from a cross-section of Ghanaians, including Founder Rawlings during his many tours around the country. If our candid reports, without malice and slants, are causing disaffection for government, we plead guilty. We did not invent the story. It is the duty of government to govern and the media to report what government does. The Ayarigas and Zitas should live and let us live because we are just doing our work. We are ready for criticisms, as we trust the Prof himself is ready for same from all of us. There is space for all of us in this beautiful Ghana of ours. As for the flyers calling themselves newspapers, we would prefer ignoring them.