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Former President John Agyekum Kufuor categorically denied having called for licensing journalists in Ghana to ensure mental health in the profession, as reported in a media section.
He is reported to have made the call at the launch of the 70th anniversary of the GJA in Accra on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.
However, when a delegation of the GJA paid him a courtesy visit to his home in Accra to thank him for honoring his invitation to launch the platinum anniversary, Mr. Kufuor categorically denied this declaration.
"I just explained that journalists have to be cautious in their work because of their influence. I did not say that journalists should have a license, "he said.
Dr. Adubofour, the former president's personal badistant, also stated that, apart from Mr. Kufuor's speech, there was no opportunity – before, during and after the event – to grant an interview to a journalist or journalists making such an appeal.
The delegation of the GJA that visited the former president was composed of Affail Monney, president; Linda Asante-Agyei, Vice President; Kofi Yeboah, Secretary General; Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, National Secretary Organizer; Audrey Dekalu, Treasurer, and Bright Blewu, Former Secretary General.
The denial of former President Kufuor confirms a clarification made earlier by the GJA during interviews with the media: there was nowhere in the six-page speech and 2506 words of the Former president that he had launched such a call for permission from reporters.
This would have been contrary to the honor conferred on him by the GJA as a champion of freedom of the press in Ghana.
What the ex-president actually said, and the GJA wishes to reiterate for the avoidance of doubt, is summarized in his speech as follows:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the challenge here is that, because journalism practitioners do not have to be licensed or publicly regulated, as is the case for many other professions, they do not have to be licensed or regulated publicly, as is the case for many other professions. come to exert a lot of influence and power to shape the minds of the people and proportionate responsibility and accountability.
"So, some of your members are likely to use the airwaves and other media as tools and weapons to deceive, intimidate, defame, chastise, disrespect and sometimes even blackmail individuals and authorities.
"As a result, many people and even the security of nations have been ruined in an unjust and irreparable way. The cost can be incalculable and has contributed to the subversion of democracy and human rights in many parts of the world. "
The GJA advises journalists and media professionals to pay attention to what they report and check their information at all times, especially when they doubt.
Inaccurate reporting can undermine the freedom of the press, a valuable right that we must defend with truth and accuracy. We must be very cautious in our reporting, particularly in the preparations for the crucial December elections this year and next.
Finally, we urge media outlets that have published the "license call" story, which distorted the statements made by the former president to draw on the wisdom he shared at the launch of the 70th Anniversary of the GJA:
"However, if you are wrong in the performance of your duties, be bold enough and humble enough to accept your failings and apologize for your misrepresentations. This makes you a more credible journalist because the mistake is human.
"It would be arrogant for you not to accept guilt in your proven misrepresentations. Such attitudes, my friends, distort the image of the entire profession and attract stigma, and may suggest, rightly or wrongly, that your services may be for rent and that There may be hidden goals, other than objective journalism. "
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