Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has urged the media to report accurately on the economy and other national issues to avoid undermining the progress achieved so far.
He made this remark on Sunday, June 18, at the Ministry of Finance, where he gave an update on the economy. He expressed concern about some media reports that claimed that Ghana had defaulted on its loans from China and that China would seize some of Ghana’s key resources as a result.
He dismissed these reports as false and baseless and said that they were only products of people’s imaginations. He said that Ghana had successfully negotiated with the Paris Club (PC) and other creditors to restructure its debt under the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment. He said that there was no agreement that would allow China to take over Ghana’s resources.
He said that the government would continue to engage with all stakeholders, especially the media, to report responsibly on the economy and to avoid jeopardizing the progress made. He quoted the late P.A.V Ansah, a University of Ghana communications school professor, who said that journalism in developing countries had a fourth role: to foster national cohesion.
He said that the inaccurate reports on China were unnecessary and unfortunate. He also said that unfounded accusations against government officials leading the recovery were untenable and served no useful purpose. He emphasized that accuracy must prevail over speed in these circumstances.
