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West Africa’s Biggest Journalism Event Launched

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West Africa’s Biggest Journalism Event Launched

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has officially launched the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA) – an event that seeks to promote and reward media excellence.

The launch took place on Wednesday August 2, 2017 at the Alisa Hotel in Accra, Ghana.

WAMECA was officially launched by Ghana’s Minister for Business Development, Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal. Hon. Awal is a journalist by training, former managing director of Ghana’s biggest newspaper organisation, Graphic Communications Group Limited and currently the publisher of one of Ghana’s leading newspapers, The Finder.

The minister highlighted the importance of the media, noting that “society cannot progress without quality and result-oriented journalism”.

He commended the MFWA’s initiative to bring media stakeholders together to discuss the future of journalism in West Africa, in addition to awarding journalists who have published compelling stories that are impacting society positively.

The maiden edition of WAMECA would be held in Accra, Ghana on the 27th and 28th October 2017.

The Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah said it was important to celebrate media practitioners, whose works continue to transform societies in West Africa, hence the media excellence awards.

“WAMECA seeks to promote excellent journalism and inspire media practitioners researching and publishing compelling stories to make the world a better place,” Mr. Braimah explained.

The WAMECA event has already attracted a number of corporate organisations who are committed to supporting journalism excellence in West Africa. Such corporate organisations include: one of Ghana’s leading banks, Stanbic Bank; Ghana’s telecom giants, MTN and Vodafone; and Ghana Chamber of Bulk oil Distributors.

Officials of Stanbic Bank present a cheque in support of WAMECA to MFWA Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah.
MFWA Executive Director receiving a cheque in support of WAMECA from MTN.
MFWA staff during the launch of WAMECA.

Major Boost for Free Expression as President Sirleaf Submits Anti-Criminal Libel Bill to Parliament

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Major Boost for Free Expression as President Sirleaf Submits Anti-Criminal Libel Bill to Parliament

In a major act of statesmanship before leaving power at the end of the year, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia on July 20, 2017, submitted to Parliament a bill to decriminalise press offenses, particularly, libel.

Titled “An Act to Amend the Liberian Codes Revised, Penal Law of 1978,” the bill is expected to be considered by the legislature and passed before members take their annual leave ahead of Liberia’s October 2017 general elections.

One of the offensive sections of the Penal Law – 11:11(b) – which the bill seeks to amend, defines as a “misdemanor” any publication which imputes crime to the President if “The purpose of the actor is to thereby injure the President in his reputation.” Section 11:14 also defines as a “first degree misdemeanor” any such accusation “either by word of mouth, writing or by public broadcast” against any executive authority, judicial authority and member of the Legislature.

The media in Liberia and civil society organisations in and out of the country such as the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), have been lobbying since the post-conflict transition to have these portions of the criminal code repealed. In March 2014, a delegation from the MFWA, CEMESP and World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (or WAN-IFRA) held discussions with then Minister of Information, Lewis Brown, during which these organisations impressed on the Minister to scrap the criminal libel laws. In line with the Minister’s assurances, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stated in her State of the Nation Address in January, 2015 that Liberia was ready to decriminalise press offenses and urged Parliament to approve the bill as soon as it is submitted.

“After lengthy debates and reviews by stakeholders, we are ready to submit, and will urge you to speedily pass into law the decriminalisation of media offenses because it is the right thing to do,” President Sirleaf said during the annual account of her stewardship.

The promised submission, however, had to wait for another two and half years before it was finally done on July 20, 2017.

“Though it is long overdue, we highly welcome the submission by President Sirleaf. We are therefore calling on the National Parliament of Liberia to pass the bill before taking their annual leave,” said an excited Malcolm Wleemogar Joseph, Executive Director of the Centre for Media Studies and Peace-building, CEMESP, a media rights organisation and national partners of the MFWA.

The introduction into Parliament of the bill comes barely a week after President Sirleaf assured Liberia’s media executives that it would be done.

“My government remains unrelenting in its efforts at addressing anti-free speech and related instruments that are still part of our statutes”, declared the President in response to concerns raised by the leadership of the Liberian media over the criminal libel albatross.

This was during a ground-breaking, one day-long retreat on July 14, 2017 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, between the government and the media to exchange views and make recommendations for improving the work of the media.

A signatory to the Table Mountain Declaration which calls for an end to criminal libel, and having already passed a Right to Information Law, Liberia is on the threshold of a hat-trick of progressive legal instruments necessary for a vibrant media and civil society empowered to demand accountability and efficient public service delivery.

The MFWA wishes to commend the government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the media and civil society organisations in Liberia for working together to come this close to ridding the legal environment of the country’s media of a major toxin.

We wish to add our voice to the appeal by our national partners, CEMESP to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Liberia’s Parliament, to pass the bill. We are hopeful that the Senate will in turn endorse it to pave the way for President Sirleaf not only to sign it but also sign off her tenure on a progressive note.

Media Regulator Rebukes Editor, Newspaper for Unprofessional Journalism

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Media Regulator Rebukes Editor, Newspaper for Unprofessional Journalism

The National Media Commission (NMC), the media regulator in Ghana, has rebuked the editor of the Day Break newspaper, Prince Prah, for a series of speculative and ethnocentric articles about the Ghana Armed Forces published by the newspaper and on the editor’s blog www.prahprince.blogspot.com.

The articles published in June, 2017, alleged, among others that promotions and appointments in the army were influenced by tribal considerations.

After a successful settlement of a complaint filed by the army over the allegations, the NMC rebuked Prah for the unsubstantiated allegations. In a statement signed by its Chairman, Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, on July 26, 2017, the NMC said “Prah could not substantiate his claims at the Settlement Committee meeting of the Commission, neither did he have evidence to back the claims of tribal bias.”

“Just looking at names and insinuating or sometimes directly alleging ethnic bias, as Mr Prah did, was unprofessional and could be dysfunctional in the case of the Ghana Armed Forces,” the NMC added.

It said the articles could potentially undermine the cohesion of the army as an institution and negatively affect national security, and therefore, advised the media in Ghana to be cautious in their coverage of matters relating to ethnicity in public life and especially in the security services.

This public rebuke comes a day after an Accra High Court found the Daily Post guilty of defamation and ordered the publishers and editor of the newspaper to pay 800, 000 (US$ 180, 000) in damages to a former Minister of state and plaintiff, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang.

The MFWA therefore shares the NMC’s concern about the ethical breaches on the part of the Day Break newspaper and joins the media regulator’s call for professional and responsible journalism in Ghana.

Editor, Newspaper, Ordered to Pay Whopping US$ 180,000 in Damages

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Editor, Newspaper, Ordered to Pay Whopping US$ 180,000 in Damages

An Accra High Court has ordered the publishers of the Daily Post newspaper and its editor, Michael Dokosi, to pay an amount of GHC 800,000 (US$ 180, 000) to a former Minister of State.

The verdict follows an action for defamation brought by Hackman Owusu Agyemang, who is currently the Board Chairman of Ghana Cocoa Board, against the newspaper and one Mahama Haruna, an activist of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Michael Dokosi was found guilty on July 25, 2017of defaming the former minister and ordered to retract the defamatory story and apologise on the front-page of his newspaper within two weeks.

The defamatory publication alleged that Mr. Owusu-Agyemang recorded and leaked a tape of a secret meeting between former President of Ghana, John Kufuor, some members of the clergy and some elders of the ruling New Patriotic Party at the ex-president’s residence in Accra.

The publication quoted one Mahama Haruna as alleging on his Facebook page that Mr. Owusu-Agyemang had sought to embarrass former President J.A Kufour and undermine the fortunes of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, in the 2016 elections.

Among the reliefs sought by Owusu-Agyeman were damages for libel in the sum of GHC 5 million (US$ 1.2 million) and an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the Defendants and their agents from making further defamatory statements about him.

The MFWA regrets the Daily Post’s failure to verify Mahama’s allegation before publishing them, leading to this heavy penalty. We, however, deem the penalty too severe and liable to cripple the media house. We, therefore, wish to appeal to the media regulator, the National Media Commission to intervene to seek some form of compromise in the matter. The MFWA also calls on the media in Ghana and West Africa as a whole to be meticulous and professional in their work.

Media Ownership Monitor Launched in Ghana

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Media Ownership Monitor Launched in Ghana

It was a moment of truth and revelation about media ownership, a platform for critical discussions and questions as stakeholders gathered at the Alisa Hotel for the launch of the report on media ownership in Ghana.

The Media Ownership Monitor (MOM) – Ghana, jointly researched and published by Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) was launched in Accra, Ghana on Tuesday, July 25, 2017 under the distinguished patronage of the Minister of Information.

The launch witnessed a panel session that discussed critically and analysed the issue of media ownership , transparency and regulation.

MFWA Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah explaining the purpose of the project.

Welcoming the guests to the launch, Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah gave an overview of the evolution of the media from 1993 to date and its accompanying challenges.

He disclosed that there have been massive growth in the numbers of radio channels in Ghana.

“Ghana has witnessed a significant increase in the numbers of radio channels from one operational radio in 1993 to three hundred and fifty four in 2016,” he disclosed, while noting that a similar growth has been recorded in television and newspaper operations.

With this growth however, he noted that, the phenomenal growth has arisen the need for the public to have a clear understanding about the people who govern the media, hence the media ownership report.

Minister for Information, Hon. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid lauding the project.

In his statement, Minister for Information, Hon. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid applauded MFWA and RSF for producing the report, stating that media publications are often reflective of the owners’ ideologies, especially when they happen to be politicians.

“It is therefore important for us to know the people who govern the media so we can make better judgement on the contents,” the minister disclosed.

The President of Reporters Without Borders – Germany, Dr. Michael Rediske, disclosed that the media ownership monitor initiative was launched two years ago to provide public data on the owners of media across the world and Ghana is the tenth country since the monitor was launched.

According to him, media issues can only be effectively addressed when the ownership dynamics are well understood.

Philip Acquaye, MFWA Programme Officer, presenting the project findings.

Lead Researcher Philip Acquaye of MFWA presented a summary of the report while the Project Manager Lisa-Maria Kretschmer gave a demonstration of the Media Ownership Monitor Website.

Philip Acquaye disclosed that they were able to scoop 56.8% of data they required from the office of the Registrar General, while 32.4% of the data was publicly unavailable.

“While we could not find company profiles on a couple of media companies at the Registrar General’s Department, we also recorded inconsistencies in public and official information on some companies,” he noted.

He revealed that a particular company that is registered for some other purpose is currently in operation as a media organisation.

The content of the Media Ownership Monitor has been published on the project website – www.ghana.mom-rsf.org.

MFWA Hosts Media and Business Development Forum

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MFWA Hosts Media and Business Development Forum

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) will, on Wednesday August 2, 2017, host Media and Business Executives at a special forum at Alisa hotel in Accra. The forum will be the first edition of a periodic convening by MFWA known as Media and Business Development Series (MBD – Series).

Wednesday’s forum will feature the Minister for Business Development, Honourable Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, as the Guest of honour and Keynote Speaker. Other speakers will be Nana Kwesi Gyan-Apenteng, Chiarman of the National Media Commission and Mrs Matilda Asante-Asiedu, Group Head of Corporate Banking, Access Bank.

The MBD-Series is a special initiative of the MFWA that seeks to bring the media and businesses closer to explore ways in which the media and the business community can forge stronger partnerships for for development of the business sector (including media businesses) in Ghana.

The maiden edition of the MBD-Series on Wednesday will be under the theme: Business Development in Ghana – The Role of the Media.

“The media have a significant role to play in promoting Ghanaian businesses and the business environment. But the media themselves must also survive as businesses and their survival also depends on having a thriving business environment that is able to support media advertising. So it’s crucial to periodically bring the two sectors together to deliberate on how they can support each other,” Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the MFWA explained.

The forum will also see the launch of the MFWA’s West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA), which will be held on October 27 and 28, 2017 in Accra.

The WAMECA event will bring the media community in West Africa together to discuss the state of journalism and the media industry in the region. The event will be climaxed with an awards event to honour journalists from across West Africa whose excellent works is impacting lives in the region.

 

Blogger Survives Assassination Attempt

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Blogger Survives Assassination Attempt

A Malian blogger has escaped an assassination attempt as he came under armed attack while driving in the early hours of July 25, 2017.

Madou Kante, popularly known as Marshal Madou, received a bullet in his chest when some unknown persons shot him through the window screen of his car and sped off. Fortunately, Kante survived and is receiving treatment at the Hôpital de Bamako. Doctors say he is out of immediate danger.

“I just had the bullet removed”, the 30 year-old told Agence France Press (AFP), hours after being admitted.

Kante later took to Facebook to restrain his numerous fans on social media who had called for a demonstration on the day of the attack.

“I urge all to remain calm. For the moment, I’m not accusing anyone and I don’t approve that any protests are embarked on in my name. I love Mali”, pleaded the activist.

According to the MFWA correspondent in Mali, Kante rose to fame through his hard-hitting analysis of socio-political issues on his blog named Madou Kal Journal. However, the exposure and denunciation of corruption, nepotism and bad governance has also antagonised some powerful people in the country.

Kante is also a member of the civil society platform An te A Bana which is opposed to proposed constitutional amendments widely criticised as an attempt to grant sweeping powers to the President.

Following the attack, An te A Bana issued a statement condemning the aggression which it said “has been carried out in a climate of hate and verbal intimidation against opponents of the constitutional review by the government and its supporters.”

Our correspondent says Malians from all walks of life, including government officials have visited the Kante at the hospital to wish him well.

This is the second time in less than two months that an activist has been targeted for his work in Mali. In June, an artiste and activist, popularly called Master Soumy, received death threats via anonymous phone calls and had his Facebook page hacked after he embarked on a vigorous campaign dubbed “Don’t Touch My Constitution!” to mobilise grassroots opposition to the proposed amendments.

The MFWA appeals to the authorities in Mali to conduct thorough investigations into the attack on Kante as well as the previous incident which targeted Master Soumy. Anything short of the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes will, in our view, encourage impunity and, thereby, silence critical and dissenting voices in Mali.

MFWA Welcomes Presidential Boost for RTI Passage in 2017

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MFWA Welcomes Presidential Boost for RTI Passage in 2017

The MFWA welcomes the assurance by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that Ghana will have an RTI law this year.

Delivering the keynote address on July 20, 2017 at Africa Open Data Conference held in Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his government’s commitment to working closely with Parliament to pass the bill which he said would “encourage citizens to hold the government accountable and ensure greater transparency.”

The RTI Bill has been before Parliament since 2010, but the process which began with a draft bill in 1999 has yet to be completed as successive Parliaments since then have failed to pass it.

The president’s assurance means that the two most powerful political figures in Ghana have publicly stated their commitment to ensuring that the RTI jinx is broken this year. On February, 2, 2017, Vice president Mahamudu Bawumia made the first such commitment since the NPP came to power.

“Our government has already made it clear that we will be passing the Right to Information Act. …..These are just some of the actions we intend to implement this year,” Dr Bawumia said at a Transparency International Regional Meeting in Accra.

These assurances are, moreover, in keeping with the 2016 manifesto of the ruling New Patriotic Party which pledges to “ensure the passage of the Right to Information bill if the present (6th) Parliament delays in doing so.”

While the recent assurances are refreshing, this is not the first time a Ghananian president has made promises to ensure that an RTI Law is passed.

Former President, John Mahama gave a similar assurance in an interview with Tim Sebastian on the latter’s “Conflict Zone” programme on DW TV in October 2015.

“I am sure Parliament will pass it before the life of this Parliament is over and when it is done, the media and researchers and anybody who wants to take advantage of it will do so.”

The President repeated his commitment to the passage of the RTI law at the first International Day for Universal Access to Information on September 26, 2016 in Paris.

“I believe it is something we should complete and make available so that people can have a legal basis for demanding information if there is reluctance to give information,” the president said.

The leadership of Parliament was not to be outdone by the president in this regard. At the 117th UN Human Rights Committee meeting, Members of Parliament led by the Deputy Attorney General, Hon Dominic Ayine, assured the international community that the RTI Bill will be passed by July 22, 2016

Despite these firm assurances and a last-minute appeal by outgoing President John Mahama in January, 2017, the sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic eventually failed to pass the bill.

In view of the above disappointments, the electoral promise of the NPP and the recent assurances by President Akufo-Addo and his vice to get the RTI passed this year should be received with cautious optimism.

The MFWA therefore welcomes – but with guarded optimism – the prospect of the RTI bill being passed this year to reward the long and arduous struggles of the media and civil society members of the RTI Coalition in Ghana, and more importantly, to boost the quest for public accountability. We urge the president to redeem his pledge to ensure the passage of the RTI as a demonstration of his commitment to empowering citizens to demand transparent and accountable governance.

Right to Information (RTI) is a fundamental human right guaranteed by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution. When passed into law, it will back up Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution which provides that “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society”.

Impacting Lives Through Media Excellence

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Impacting Lives Through Media Excellence

Who Owns the Media in Ghana

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Who Owns the Media in Ghana

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) will hold a one-day stakeholder forum to present a report on research findings on media ownership in Ghana on Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 9a.m. at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

The research project titled: “Media Ownership Monitor” is the first of its kind in West Africa and it seeks to map the current status of media ownership in Ghana, the legal framework that regulates media ownership and its overarching implication on media pluralism. The question of “Who controls the media in Ghana?” is the critical question this study seeks to answer.

The forum will bring together key stakeholders including media owners and professionals, journalists, experts, regulators, policy makers and the public to discuss the findings of the study, and to dialogue on how media regulation in a converging media environment needs to be designed, in order to safeguard the media’s independence, to ensure competition and provide transparency.

The event will be chaired by the Minister of Information, Honourable Mustapha Hamid and addressed by local and international speakers who will deliberate on the critical issue of media ownership in Ghana. A panel will discuss the topic: The Media industry in Ghana: the critical issues of ownership, transparency and regulation.

The forum will also witness the launch of the Media Ownership Monitor Ghana website.

MFWA to Launch Access to Information Project in Wa

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MFWA to Launch Access to Information Project in Wa

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) will on Thursday, July 20, 2017 launch the Access to Information project in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

The project titled: Promoting Citizens’ Participation in Local Governance through Increased Access to Information, seeks to facilitate information sharing by creating appropriate platforms for community citizens to engage their local authorities.

The Special Guest for the launch is Sulemana Al-Hasan, Upper West Regional Minister. Other stakeholders include the Chief Executives of Wa Municipal, Lawra, Wa East, Wa West and Sissala East Districts. Representatives from Civil Society Organisations, religious and traditional authorities, media groups and the general public will participate in the launch.

The launch will take place at Upland Hotel in Wa at 10.00am.

The launch is being organised with funding support from Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA).

Journalism in West Africa: Persistent Challenges & the Way Forward

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Journalism in West Africa: Persistent Challenges & the Way Forward

The future of mainstream journalism in West Africa is at a crossroads. With draconian laws that criminalise speech still in the law books of some countries and persistent attacks, harassment and threats meted out to journalists on a daily basis, it is not too clear what the future holds for journalism in the region.

Even though freedom of expression organisations like Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and its national partners continue to monitor, report and intervene wherever such threats to free expression rear their ugly heads, repression of free speech continues to thrive. And the statistics of such violations are alarming, to say the least. For instance in the first quarter of 2017, the MFWA reported that freedom of expression violations more than tripled – from 14 in the last quarter of 2016 to 47 in the first quarter of 2017.

While journalists are not the only victims of free expression violations, they are often the most affected workforce in an environment of repression and impunity. If today a journalist is not being lynched by an irate mob, tomorrow, a government would be sending them to jail for simply carrying out their mandated duties.

The work of media institutions or practice of mainstream journalism is further compounded and challenged by new media. While radio and television are equally affected by the new media phenomenon, newspapers bear the major threat posed by new media.

Radio and Television channels continue to find innovative ways through which the Internet can complement their work instead of putting them out of business. Now, there is Internet radio and television. Even a couple of local radio and television channels now stream live online.

A similar innovation is taking place in newspaper publication also, with the establishment of newspaper websites. However, the newspaper websites are mostly competing with blogs, social media feeds, and other online news.

With the Internet, news spreads faster than it will ever get with radio, television or newspaper. It is now so easy to film or photograph an event with a simple mobile phone and share it around the world at the click of a bottom and in the twinkle of an eye. News dissemination is gradually becoming everyone’s hobby now. Even people with little or no journalism idea are now identifying themselves as citizen journalists because they can write, photograph, film and publish online.

So of what essence is the traditional media if news can be easily circulated through the new media?

Well, pro-mainstream media analysts argue that the old media remain significant because its content could be more credible than whatever is on the new media. But others also question credibility in an era where the practice of journalism is marred by unprofessional conducts by a couple of practitioners.

These are some of the raging debates that could impact the future of journalism. It is about time media stakeholders go back to the drawing board to discuss these concerns and map out strategies for the future.

The time for dialogues and formation of alliances or coalitions with well structured strategies to tackle these challenges is now.

This is why  the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) – the regional freedom of expression and media development organisation – is convening  a regional media conference to discuss the past, the present and the future of journalism in West Africa.

The  conference, dubbed, West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA), is expected to bring together media stakeholders across the region to discuss prevailing and emerging issues confronting the media industry in October 2017, at Accra, Ghana.

While the conference is expected to come up with solutions that will redefine and shape the future of journalism in West Africa, it is progressive that the organisers did not limit the event only to the conference, but have also included an awards ceremony to acknowledge and celebrate journalists who have excelled in their work in the region.

There couldn’t have been a better timing for such an assembly than at this crucial period when mainstream journalism is going through a lot of turbulence.

Let this engagement be the first and not the last as safeguarding the future of journalism should be a continuous process and a concern for  all, because a threat to journalism should be a threat to humanity itself.

Long live press freedom….long live journalism.

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End

Written by Abdul Karim Fonti Kabia

Sierra Leonean Journalist and Mandela Washington Fellow on attachment at MFWA

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