Accra, Oct. 21, GNA – Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern about the state of Ghana’s economy and called on the citizenry and the media to “come on board” to salvage the situation.
He said the economy was in a “terrible” situation and urged the Government to “come clean on the state of the economy” and “rally the people” to fix it.
The former President made the call when some executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra on Friday, October 21, 2022.
The purpose of the visit was to among others, introduce the new executives to the former President and officially invite him to the 2022 GJA Media Awards scheduled for November 12, 2022.
Former President Mahama, who is also a communications expert, is a member of the GJA.
Ghana currently has an interbank exchange rate of GHS11.5 to US$1, inflation rate of 37.2 per cent, and a monetary policy rate of 24.5 per cent.
Mr Mahama urged the media to continue to play its “watchdog” role to build confidence and restore faith in the country’s democracy.
He urged the Government to take urgent steps to restore the economy and halt the rapid depreciation of the Cedi.
“The economy is in danger of crushing if we don’t get an IMF programme. How to even survive until that IMF Programme is going to be very difficult.
“In circumstance like this, what you do is to rally the country…We have come to the reality of the situation, and we all need to come on board and see how we can salvage it,” he said.
Mr Mahama commended the GJA for playing a “strong role” in broadening the media space since the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution, which, he said, had guaranteed the freedom of the press.
He expressed worry that Ghana dropped to 30 places in the latest World Press Freedom Index, describing the country’s performance as “poor”.
Mr Mahama asked the GJA to rise against any form of attack on journalists and defend its members from harassment in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution.
“One of your own, Ahmed Suale paid the ultimate prize and as at now, there seem not to be any movement in apprehending the people who assassinated him.
“I think that it is something that you (GJA) must not sleep on. Continue to fight to make sure that whoever was responsible for that murder is brought to book,” he said.
Mr Albert Dwumfour, President of GJA, commended the former President for his role in promoting press freedom during his tenure as President.
He said the vision of the new administration was to ensure the welfare of journalists through professional development, investing in human capital, and building capacities to meet emerging trends.
Mr Dwumfour said the Association would soon launch the “Journalists Support Fund” to provide legal services and other interventions to journalists attacked in line of duty.
“The Fund will put together a team of legal brains who will tell and see to the logical conclusion of such cases,” he said.
GNA