World Press Freedom Index: Government Lists Four Things To Improve Ghana's Poor Ranking

• The Government of Ghana has outlined four key things it intends to do in the coming days to improve the country's press freedom ranking
• This follows Ghana's drop in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders
• Ghana dropped from the 30th position out of 180 countries in 2021 to the 60th, which is the lowest for the country in 17 years

The Nana Akufo-Addo-led government has listed four steps it intends to take to improve Ghana's press freedom ranking following the country's poor score on the 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

In a press statement, the Ministry of Information said the government welcomes the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranking for Ghana as a baseline reference point against which press freedom in the country would be measured in the coming years.

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The statement signed by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said despite the caution from the publishers of the report that against comparing the 2022 rankings and scores with those from 2021 due to changes in the methodology used in the latest ranking, the Government of Ghana intends to do the following to promote press freedom:

1. Collaborate with the National Media Commission to improve the safety of journalists

2. Work together with Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders to deepen education for state and non-state actors on the safety of journalists

3. To address the RFS' concern about the poor economic conditions of most journalists in the country, the government will continue to engage with media associations, including media owners, to improve journalists' working and economic conditions.

4. Collaborate with stakeholders in the fight against disinformation and the spread of fake news.

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The statement explained that the government intends to focus on the above to improve Ghana's following press freedom index because they are the areas where the country performed poorly.

"Ghana performed creditably well in three of the five parameters under the new methodology, namely, Political Context, Legal Framework and Social Context. Ghana scored 66%, 81%, and 79%.

"It is worthy of note that this rather significant performance amidst a general downgrade is largely due to initiatives such as the passage of the Right to Information Act, the Coordinated Mechanism on Safety of Journalists and the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme," the statement from the Information Ministry pointed out.

World Press Freedom Index: Ghana’s 2022 Ranking Plummets To Lowest In 17 Years

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Ghana has dropped significantly in the 2022 ranking on the World Press Freedom Index released by the Reporters Without Borders, plummeting to the lowest in 17 years. This year’s Index ranks Ghana 60th out of 180 countries worldwide for press freedom, while it ranked 30th just last year.

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Reporters Without Borders or Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) in French, defines press freedom as “the effective possibility for journalists, as individuals and as groups, to select, produce and disseminate news and information in the public interest, independently from political, economic, legal and social interference, and without threats to their physical and mental safety.”

The RSF ranking uses political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and security indicators to compile the Index.

Source: YEN.com.gh