By Seraphine Nyuiemedi
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has expressed worry about the conditions of service for media practitioners in the country.
He said the media plays a crucial role in democratic governance, saying that without a strong media, no government can function properly.
He called for the media to be appreciated without fear or intimidation. Mr Bagbin was speaking at a press soiree in Ho as part of activities to mark 30 years of uninterrupted Democracy under the 4th Republic.
The press soiree was attended by media practitioners from the various media houses in the Volta and Oti Regions. It provided a platform for them to ask questions, share ideas and interact with the speaker about parliamentary activities.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said the press, referred to as the fourth Realm is mandated to hold the three arms of government accountable in the interest of the Ghanaian people; however, this cannot be achieved under its poor working conditions.
He therefore called for a nationally agreed-upon minimum condition of service for media practitioners in the country.
“If the media is the one that is to hold the three of us accountable, is just not even catered for; media is seen in Ghana as a private enterprise, and nobody cares whether there’s conditions of service or not, and so the person is struggling to survive. The people you are to hold to account, they pass in jet planes, and you are walking where they are going. How are you going to get him to account to you? So there are a lot of things that we haven’t gotten right as a country,” he said.
He said the house, as part of efforts to educate the public on its engagement, has restructured, identified, and created some three departments to engage the public. The Departments under one division, namely, Media Relations headed by David Sebastian Damoah, Public Engagement Department headed by Superintendent (Rtd) Efia Tenge, and the department of broadcasting, will enhance the dissemination of information in a clear manner.
He said Parliament will soon establish a broadcasting station to broadcast its proceedings. He added that to ensure no one is left behind, Parliament has also established an agency called the Citizens Bureau to directly engage the public.
Hon. Bagbin said, contrary to perceptions, that he sometimes makes decisions in favour of one party in the house, which is not the case, as he does investigate all cases presented before decisions are made, indicating that in the performance of his function he must hold the balance.
He said the current hung parliament is the best Ghana has had, adding that it has restrained the government from bringing some bills to the house for fear of rejection.
“The hung parliament is not easy to handle, but the hung parliament is the best parliament because the hung parliament is the parliament that we see a bite inspite of your dissatisfaction of it. The earlier parliaments were parliaments of multitudes, the raw of the crowd, so anything that comes, yeeeye whether it’s wrong or right, these days we have called the government to account for many things, and the government has been restrained from bringing so many things they would have brought to parliament and pushed through. They haven’t brought them because they know that you won’t get through with two-thirds majority,” he said.
The Chairman of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Volta/Oti Chapter, Emmanuel Agbaxode, called for more to be done to protect media practitioners from violence and intimidation.
He pledged the GJA’s commitment to work together with parliament for the development of the country. The Speaker of Parliament will call on the Volta Regional House of Chiefs and Queen Mothers, hold a public forum at Ho Technical University later on Friday.
A mock parliament and debate session that will bring together tertiary institutions in the Volta Region will also be held at the Ho Nurses Training College Auditorium on Saturday, December 16.
