A delegation from the Ministry of Information led by the sector minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has completed a tour of the coastal regions which includes the Western, Central, Volta and Eastern.
The tour formed part of government’s efforts in taking inputs from relevant stakeholders amid ongoing discussions to restructure the country’s media landscape and provide media personnel with the needed support in their day-to-day activities.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah in an interaction with journalists said government remained committed in creating a conducive environment for the practice of their profession.
The tour is a continuation of similar exercises by the ministry to the regions in the north in May this year.
He said government was concluding the formation of the executive arm of government to get governance running at the local level.
“You will notice that we are coming to End of the construction of the executive arm of government with the appointment of MMDCEs so that full work commences particularly at the local levels. The Primary focus of government is to get the economy back on track post-COVID so that we bring more developments and jobs and concentrate on improving the quality of life of Ghanaians” he said.
The Minister charged the media to help government create awareness on to the public on security challenges currently facing the subregion and report suspicions to the security agencies.
“We have the responsible to raise awareness for the Ghanaian public. We need to bring some of these things to the attention of security agencies”
He also updated journalists on work done so far on the two media support programs – Coordinated mechanisms for the safety of journalists and Media Capacity Enhancement Programme.
The Minister and his delegation also toured some agencies under his ministry specifically GBC and ISD installations as part of the ministry’s reorganization drive.
Courtesy call on Traditional leaders
The delegation also held superset meetings with traditional rulers including the Omanhene of the Ogua Traditional Council Osabarimba Kwesi Atta ll in Cape Coast and the paramount Chief of Essikado, in the western region Nana Kobina Nketsia V.
Both traditional leaders praised the Information Minister for his dedication and remarkable performance as the spokesperson of government operations and encouraged other young appointees to emulate him.
In Ho, the Information Minister urged media houses and Journalists to take advantage of support programmes aimed at building their capacity.
He said the National Media Commission (NMC), which is the implementing body tasked by cabinet will soon embark on regional sensitization engagements on the programs with stakeholders.
The two programmes, Media Capacity Enhancement Programme and the Co-ordinated Mechanism for Safety of Journalists are aimed at creating a conducive and safe environment for media practitioners and enhance their capacity to effectively play their role in consolidating the country’s democratic gains.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah appealed to the media to continue to collaborate with government on its current efforts to get the economy back on track post COVID through the acquisition of more vaccines, the injection of 100 billion cedis into the economy through the Ghana Care Obantampa programme and focusing on security in Ghana following the recent terrorist threats in the subregion.
The delegation includes directors of the Ministry and government spokespersons.
