Auditor General salutes role of media in fighting corruption

General News on Thursday, February 14, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-02-14

Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Auditor General, praised the role of the media in fighting corruption in the country.

He said that greater transparency and greater accountability were essential in the fight against corruption. stating that "this is where the media has proved useful in promoting good governance, transparency and accountability to control or minimize corruption".

Speaking at a public meeting on media and corruption in Ghana, Domelevo said the fight against corruption also means that the media investigate and report on the problem, so that There may be follow-ups and prosecutions.

He added that the effectiveness of the media depends on several factors, such as access to information, freedom of expression and also the category of professionals who possess the necessary skills to make their work.

"Public officials must serve the public and be accountable to the public, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to reach the public effectively without the media because you (the media) are covering the public much better than it is." can not do it, "he said.

"At a minimum, the media must reveal corrupt officials, quick investigations, if they can not conduct them, strengthen the work of legitimate entities identified to fight corruption and put pressure on the government to change laws and the laws that create the necessary platform for corruption. "

He noted that some of the laws of the nation create a space for corruption.

Mr. Domelevo said, "Corruption is a dangerous game, and all those who fight corruption should know that corruption will one day fight against you, so incentives should be offered to those who risk their lives or jobs in the workplace. the fight against corruption. "

With regard to the Right to Information Bill (RTI), he noted that the bill had taken too long to see the light of day; stating that "we need information so that the media can do their job and do it better".

He urged media professionals to specialize in their field.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) held a public meeting on the theme "Assessing the performance of the media in the fight against corruption in Ghana: two years after the war". Akufo-Addo administration ".

Mr. Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the MFWA, said that although the media space was improving, the number of press houses was increasing and the number of journalists was still increasing, but seemed like the fight against corruption was becoming less and less important and that there was need to do something about it.

He added that the few journalists who investigate or report on corruption sometimes lack the necessary support from some news outlets.

He said that there was corruption in the media "and so when we talk about the role of the media in the fight against corruption, we must examine the role of the media in the fight against corruption in the media themselves".

"It is a fact that today, the tools used to fight against media companies or journalists, who are working hard on corruption issues, it is the media themselves that same, sometimes leading journalists.

"… there is corruption in the media, and the media themselves have also been an obstacle to fighting corruption."

Ms. Linda Ofori-Kwafo, Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, called on newspapers in the country that never report on corruption issues.

Mr. Manbadeh Azure Awuni, Senior Television Reporter, Joy News, gave an overview of the investigative work he had done on awarding contracts to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

He also urged fellow journalists not to abandon the fight against corruption.