“My problem with Electoral Commission is that I think it’s shameful that you’ll charge the media to cover the elections. We’re not a very sincere people. We would like to cover things up,” Multiple award-winning host of Peace FM’s flagship programme ‘Kokrokoo’ turned the heat on the Electoral Commission (EC) over the Commission’s charges for accreditation for media practitioners in the country.
The EC asked the various and interested media houses that seek to cover the 2016 Elections to pay money before they receive accreditations to give field reports on the elections.
Each media house is required to meet the financial charges by the Commission or forfeit its election coverage.
Responding to the EC’s order, Mr. Sefa Kayi, affectionately called “Chairman General” for his unmatched broadcast acuity, lambasted the Commission for being unfair to the media.
He expressed his resentments, saying the EC’s decision is “just like State protocol asking journalists to pay money to cover the 6th March Independence anniversary. I don’t think it’s a very good thing you’ve done. Sadly, we won’t talk about it. We’ll push it under the carpet but you’re denying journalists the right to report the truth and the situations that happen to people. I don’t think it’s a smart thing to do. I don’t know why as a journalist or as part of the media here, we should pay money…”
Chairman General therefore cautioned the EC stating emphatically that “if we’re not careful, we’ll end up reporting disaster. Little things like what the Electoral Commission has done to us as journalists is what starts this small (small) things. What is 10 cedis to you from a journalist? What is 20 cedis to you from a journalist? We’ve done it since 1992. Why are you charging us?
“Because you want us to pay for accreditation, what is accreditation? A piece of paper with our names and lamination and we have to pay for it to cover elections that have to do with the future of this country. I am not very happy as a media person.”
Watch video below:
-Peacefmonline
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