Mr James Agyenim Boateng, Deputy Minister of Information, on Monday urged regional and district information officers to provide timely information to ensure quick responses from government.
"You have to provide information in real time by way of speed," he said.
Mr Boateng said this in Ho when he met staff of the Information Services Department, the Ghana News Agency, Graphic Communications Group Limited, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and the New Times Corporation as part of his three-day working visit to the Volta Region.
He said time difference affects the relevance of information, and urged journalists and information officers to be timely with their reports.
"The situation where some reports delay for over a month is very bad and must be stopped".
Mr Wilhem Gaitu, Volta Regional Manager of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), during an open forum noted that poor equipment in some state-owned media houses accounted for delays in transmitting reports to where they were needed.
He observed that many state-owned media houses in the region did not have computers and internet facilities and therefore found it difficult to work effectively.
Mr Gaitu said the workplace environment of some media houses was demoralizing and required government and other stakeholders to act quickly to reverse the situation especially in the GNA.
Mr Bennet Dzogbelu, Regional Information Officer, complained of inadequate funds for administration and public education on government policies, and appealed for more support in that area.
Mr Ali Kukubor of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation described the state owned media in the governments' scheme of things as a nonentity which like the proverbial town crier was only good for conveying governments' messages with occasional tots of the local gin, "akpeteshie", to pep him up for his job.
He said the conditions of service, including salaries, of state-owned subvented media organisations were about the worst in the public service and yet their personnel continued to work out themselves in the service of the country.
The Deputy Minister would also visit Hohoe and Denu and meet with heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the Region.
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