The Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, has hinted at his ministrys plan to implement legislation aimed at guiding the medias reportage and coverage of tragedies in a more respectful and less graphic manner.
According to him, under the new legislation, the ministry will ensure that the regulations align with the Ghana Journalists Associations Code of Ethics, which calls on journalists to respect the privacy of bereaved and grieving families.
We’re going to be taking a lot of inspiration from the GJA’s own code of ethics. So, the way the code of ethics speaks about respect for grieving families and intrusion in the privacy of people who are grieving, we would literally pick directly from the constitution. It will be done in the constitution’s own words and put in the legislation, he said on JoyNews on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.
GAF Z-9 helicopter blasted mid-air; it did not crash Deputy Majority Whip
Sam George explained that although the policies will align with those of the GJA, they will be formalised into law through legislation.
He added that these provisions would serve as a guideline for broadcasting, pending the approval of the Broadcasting Bill in Parliament.
I think that is what we’re going to do when it comes to anything that we’re going to be using to guide broadcasting and of course this is pending the completion of the broadcasting bill as well. That will go into further detail, but I think in the Electronic Communications Act, we can pick bits and pieces from the GJA’s own code of ethics. It’s not a government directive, but basically, the government is codifying in law, positions that the GJA itself has established as code of ethics for journalists, he explained.
The minister also hinted at 15 new pieces of legislation that the ministry is currently working on covering various sectors under its mandate.
‘If you can’t help foot soldiers, don’t harm them’ – Omane Boamah’s last words to party leaders
He added that they plan to separate the Electronic Communications Act from the National Communications Authority Act.
The ministry is currently working on 15 new pieces of legislation. In the Electronic Communications Act that we’re dealing with now, we’re decoupling that. We’re having the NCAs Act stand alone and the Electronic Communications Act standalone too. This gives us a very good segue to be able to deal with all of that because we’re still in the process of finalising the legislation.
And so, this is ample time enough for us to ensure that we do not try to censure the media’s ability to publish, but we’ll be able to set parameters that say that let’s not cross (sic)the line, he stated.
MAG/VPO
Meanwhile, watch the trailer to GhanaWebs yet-to-air documentary on teenage girls and how fish is stealing their futures below: