Be Advocates Of Truth - Minister Tells Media

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye-Darfuor, has urged journalists to be advocates of truths and facts that will propel the development of Ghana.

He said even though government could not do without the media, because of the relevant position it occupied in the scheme of national development, “the media must be circumspect in reporting about sensitive national issues”.

The Minister who made the remarks at the maiden Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), media encounter in Koforidua, said inaccurate reportage on national issues was disincentive to government and nation building.

He mentioned the Fulani menace and the illegal mining activities known as galamsey, as some of the sensitive national issues that the media were not reporting accurately and charged the media to do proper investigation of issues before publishing.

The Regional Minister, emphasising his points indicated that, some international media had reported against him that he owed cows in the Afram Plains area, hence, his inability to fight the Fulani menace that had led to protractions between the people and the Fulani’s.

“It is sad that on the issue of the Fulani menace, the press has taken sides without knowing the actual facts and history behind the cattle rearing in Ghana, for the media to sit in their offices and studios and postulate is bad for our democracy”.

According to the Minister, it was irresponsible for a journalist to sit in his office and publish untruth and stressed that “I want to put on record that I am a strict vegetarian and have never considered cattle rearing as part of my businesses and do not even have a chicken in my house”.

Mr Parry Okudzeto, a deputy minister of information, said government recognised the role of the media in realising all its policies and programmes and urged the media to educate the public on the policies.

He mentioned that government in recognition of the role of the media would resource all the state media and open more communication channels to make information more accessible and facilitate the work of the media.