RE: ‘SCRAP MINISTRY OF INFORMATION’

Upon reading the story authored by George Ernest Asare in the Monday, 15 February 2010 edition of the Daily Graphic Newspaper and the subsequent publication of the story on www.myjoyonline.com under the caption, “Scrap Ministry of Information”, I have found it imperative to debunk the assertion of Dr Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa (lecturer at the Department of Publishing and Communication Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) that the Ministry of Information must be scrapped.

In the said story, Dr Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa opined that the Government must scrap the Ministry of Information, saying “it has totally outlived its usefulness in democratic governance as practiced in Ghana”. He also described the Ministry as a propaganda outfit of government and that "it is one of the ministries we do not need as a nation because it does not contribute in any way to our socio-economic development effort". In furtherance to his fallacious opinion, Dr Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa pointed out that the Chief of Staff, Communication Director at the Presidency as well as the various ministers could explain government policies and that it was time government rather strengthened the Information Service Department with the requisite logistics to enable it perform in a more effective and efficient manner.

Contrary to his comments, I wish to state categorically that the Ministry of Information is more relevant today than ever. Indeed, the call for the Ministry to be scrapped was first opined by Mrs. Elisabeth Ohene during the reign of Gen. Akuffo. This, she believed, would ensure press freedom and accountability. Ironically, twenty-three years on, Mrs. Elisabeth Ohene became the first Minister for Media Relations in the Ex-President J.A. Kufuor's government. This time around she did not see anything wrong with her appointment to a Ministry which was functionally the same as the Ministry of Information. In April last year, Prof. Kwame Karikari of the School of Communication at the University of Ghana also averred that the ministry must be scrapped since there are so many channels which disseminate information to the public.

Although, I have great respect for the aforementioned communication experts, I think their comments are misleading and fallacious. Against the background of its checkered history, it is refreshing to note that media landscape has evolved from the era of “shit bombing” through the days of the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law and now to the Right to Information bill (will soon be passed into law). This clearly attests to the undeniable fact that the relationship successive Governments, the media and the citizenry has been enhanced and entrenched. As a matter of fact, the Ministry of Information had been created to facilitate a two-way free flow of timely and reliable information and feedback between the Government and the public, and to assist in development, co-ordination of policy; monitoring and the evaluation of programmes and activities by the Sectors Agencies.

Taking cognisance of the fact that, our right to information has been guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and it is recognised as an inalienable right by the International conventions on human rights; any attempt to scrape the Ministry of Information will ultimately undermine the culture of transparency, meticulous accountability and the reliable dissemination of a co-ordinated information from government and vice versa. In giving meaning to the need for the existence of the Ministry of Information and the passage of the Right to Information law, paragraph (f) of clause (1) of article 21 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana stipulates that, “all persons have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic state”.

Any attempt to dispute the relevance of the Ministry of Information on grounds that the media landscape was in the past characterised by acts of interference, abusiveness, oppressiveness, etc. perpetuated by the various heads of state is most unfortunate. This paranoia is an indication that some of our so-called experts are still living in the past and their comments if not condemned could derail our democratic gains. In a culture of participatory democracy such as ours, the citizenry can actively be part of governance when they are informed and governments can be responsive when there is a co-ordinated channel to monitor and evaluate public responses to Government policies, programmes and activities and provide timely feedback to Government. The Ministry also projects the image of the country in collaboration with other agencies to attract foreign investment in consonance with Government policy.

Dr Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa also got it wrong when he called on government to scrap the Ministry of Information and rather strengthen the Information Service Department (ISD) . It must be noted that ISD is not an entity on its own but one of the five agencie of the Ministry of Information. The ISD is the major operational agency of the Ministry and serves as Government's major public relations organisation both locally and abroad. The other agencies are the General Administration, Information Services Department (ISD), Ghana News Agency (GNA), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI). Each of these agencies is of great relevance and can therefore not be scrapped.

The assertion by Dr Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa that, due to the existence of the National Media Commission (NMC) and the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA); the Ministry of Information must be scrapped is unmeritorious and implicitly portrays a lack of understanding of their distinct roles. The National Media Commission is enjoined by the 1993 National Media Commission Act 449 as well as article 167 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to among other things; insulate the state-owned media from government control, exhibit neutrality, maintain a high sense of journalistic standards, ensure the freedom and independence of the media, etc. The GJA like any association has rules to regulate the conduct of its members. The NMC and the GJA do not play the same role as the Ministry of Information and as such one cannot be scrapped because of the existence of the other.

Dr Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa also noted that problems relating to other ministries “are handled by the ministers themselves, their Chief Directors, Public Relations outfits so of what use is the Ministry of Information to the citizenry who pay taxes to sustain its operations?” This argument is flawed on grounds that most government policies, programmes and activities are in fulfilment of the political manifesto of the government of the day. The Chief Director, the Public Relations officers, etc. are Civil Servants and as such debarred from engaging in active politics. Most of these people are technocrats and are expected to strictly play the roles of technocrats and not politicians. Even in the unlikely event that no law prevents them from speaking for government, there must be a channel of co-ordination and that is the Ministry of Information. The implementation of most government policies, activities and programmes are multi-ministerial or inter-sectoral, hence the central point of co-ordination is critical and relevant.

Once upon a time, men used candles as their only means of lighting. Whenever they lit the candle and raised it high, the wax burnt them. This continued until the lantern was invented. Some were sceptical about the use of the lantern because they thought it would burn them like the candle did. They therefore banned the use of the lantern and lived in the dark. Some decided to revert to the candle, lit it and kept under their beds.

My dear readers, how will you describe both the sceptics who were living in their past and those who lit their candles and kept it under their beds? The scrapping of the Ministry of Information by Government could be as absurd as a man who thinks it is better to light a candle and keep it under the bed and the other who thinks it is better to live in the dark than to evolve. I still insist that the Ministry of Information is still useful and cannot be seen as a WHITE ELEPHANT.

Thank you!!!
Credit: Justice Kutsienyo
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