President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Dwumfuor, is calling on the government to strengthen legislation to protect journalists, warning that current laws are too weak to deter attacks.
Speaking during a visit to the Jubilee House, Mr Dwumfuor noted that the worsening safety of journalists has directly contributed to Ghana’s sharp decline on the World Press Freedom Index.
“Your Excellency, attacks worsened Ghana’s ranking on the World Press Freedom Index. We used to be number one and dropped to three, a position we maintained for years till we started declining.
“This year, we are 52 out of 180 countries, dropping from 50th position last year. Ghana is now eighth in Africa. A very sad and unfortunate development,” he said.
He urged President John Mahama to use his executive powers to enact legislation that would classify attacks on journalists as aggravated offences rather than misdemeanours.
“If we continue to treat assaults on journalists as misdemeanours, it will not deter or serve as a deterrent to others. The GJA needs your intervention,” Mr Dwumfuor stressed.
The GJA President also appealed for compensation packages for media practitioners who have suffered assaults in the line of duty, including JoyNews’ Latif Iddrisu, Erastus Asare Donkor, and Ohemeng Tawiah.
“We are aware that journalism is a profession and it’s not a crime. Some of our colleagues have suffered occupational hazards in the line of duty. We want to appeal for compensation for such practitioners,” he said.
He commended the President for his intervention that recently led to the arrest and remand of suspects in the latest attack on Latif Iddrisu, saying, “This is a big success chalked in the fight against such impunities on the media.”
Mr Dwumfuor added that the Association would officially submit the names of affected journalists to the presidency for consideration.