In 1988...

With the exception of the short-lived period of government under Dr Hilla Limann (1979-1981) most organs of communication in Ghana (the press, television and radio), together with the film industry, the news agency and two training institutions in film and journalism, have always been owned and controlled by the State... The Secretariat for Information has control over the supply and allocation of almost all media equipment and facilities from newsprint to telephones and typewriters.

‘A high degree of self censorship operates in Ghana. The media are not known to report on any arrests and detentions, demonstrations or statements critical of the government...’

A high degree of self-censorship operates in Ghana. The media are not known to report on any arrests and detentions, demonstrations or statements critical of the government… Since January 1982 there has been a ban on the reporting of opposition political activity. Read more...

In 2008...

A great deal has changed since 1987, when Ghana was under the control of Jerry Rawlings’ Provisional National Defence Council. At that time the media were under severe pressure from the government, which used legislative, institutional and practical instruments to orchestrate a ‘culture of silence’ and prevent opposition voices from being heard. Freedom of expression and transparency have been greatly enhanced, although optimism is tempered by the fact that some of the same problems persist, if in weaker form.

In 1992 a new Constitution established the fourth Republic of Ghana and, with accompanying legal reform, there began a process of significant liberalisation within the media and in the field of freedom of expression. The growing democratic credentials of the country have reinforced this change, particularly the election as President of John Kufuor, candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the 2000 elections.

The new Constitution provided for greater freedom of expression and press freedoms in Section 12 (on the freedoms and independence of the media) and Section 5 (on fundamental rights and freedoms). The Constitution guarantees ‘Freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media’ (Chapter 5, Section 21). It also guarantees freedom and independence of the media through the establishment of the independent National Media Commission (NMC).

Legal and Regulatory Framework

There is an ongoing process of legal reform in Ghana. In 2003 the Parliament passed a Whistleblowers Act, one component of the legal structure required to empower a culture of openness and freedom of information.

Although the Constitution recognises the right to information, this is far from being achieved in practice as various laws prevent public officials from releasing information without prior approval of a superior. The draft Right to Information Bill has not yet been made law, despite having undergone several revisions in 2003 and 2005. The Ghana Right to Information Coalition, which is composed of Ghanaian media and civil society organisations and led by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, wrote an open letter in 2006 hoping to accelerate the process and pointing out that the right to information is enshrined in Ghana’s Constitution and in its commitments under international law. ARTICLE 19 has reviewed the draft Right to Information Bill and found it not up to international standards.

In 2001 the country’s criminal libel and sedition laws were repealed. This was an important development for journalists, as these laws had been used to arrest and harass media workers in the past. The Amendment Bill repealed that part of the Ghana Criminal Code 1960 (Act 29) which deals with criminal libel and also abrogated the sections that gave the President the power to ban organisations at his discretion and that deal with the offence of sedition, defamation of the President and the criminalisation of communication of false news. The removal of these laws from the statute books and the passing of the Whistleblowers Act are unusually progressive in West Africa.

The independent National Media Commission (NMC) was created by the National Media Communication Act 1993 and is regulated by the 1993 Act and by Chapter 12 of the Constitution. Its functions include to ‘promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media’ and to ‘insulate State-owned media from government control’.

The second body regulating the media in Ghana is the National Communications Authority (NCA) established by the National Communications Authority Act in 1996. It is responsible for allocating licences and frequencies to broadcast media. The NMC performs all other regulatory functions.

Political Expression

Since the 1990s, Ghana’s elections have generally been deemed free, transparent and fair by international observers. Civil society and the media have reportedly taken an active role in past elections, with television and radio emerging as important for disseminating news and analysis on the progress of the election campaigns. However, some commentators, such as the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-GHANA) have stated that in 2004 the election coverage in the media was somewhat biased in favour of the ruling party, the NPP.

News Media

Registration of all newspapers with the NMC is required as a means to monitor the sector by keeping an updated database according to the Constitution which states that ‘there shall be no impediments to the establishment of private press or media; and in particular, there shall be no law requiring any person to btain a licence as a prerequisite to the establishment or operation of a newspaper, journal or other media for mass communication or information’ (Chapter 12, 162(3)). However there has been some controversy over the lack of clarity in issuing of licences, with some being granted whilst others are rejected with no explanation given. The NMC oversees all the print and electronic, State and private media.

The NCA, which allocates licences to broadcasters, is thought to be less than fully independent, given that its board is appointed by the President in consultation with the Council of State. By contrast, the board regulating the NMC has 15 members, each nominated by different representative mediao r civil society groups and the government. It is not clear why the NCA refuses some licences; the National Communications Authority Act only states that a licence should not be granted in cases where there are ‘compelling reasons founded on technical data, national security, public safety or other reasonable justification’ (Article 13(2)). Furthermore, the Act is somewhat lacking in transparency: it is unclear why a licence-issuing authority is needed, given that its remit clearly overlaps that of the NMC. Furthermore, it contravenes Article 162(3) of the Constitution.

‘Although the breaking of the government monopoly in the broadcast sector precipitated some growth, it was the repeal of the criminal libel laws in 2001 that prompted a surge, particularly in the number of radio stations and in their commercialisation.’

Although not an official union, the Ghanaian Journalists Association (GJA) is an effective organisation of media practitioners that undertakes training and advocacy, in particular drawing attention to the poor treatment of journalists and the media. Founded in 1949, the GJA was reinvigorated in 1992 with the adoption of the new Constitution. The GJA was at the heart of the successful campaign to decriminalise defamation and sedition.

The degree of freedom of expression and information in Ghana has fluctuated with different governments. In 1987 the criminal prosecution of sedition was a huge impediment to free press activity, but in 2001 criminal defamation and sedition laws were repealed. However, despite commitments by the authorities to afford greater protection to journalists, they are still Ghana not given the proper legal and physical protection to carry out their work. A weak case of defamation brought by a government Minister in 2007 led to large fines, thus encouraging self-censorship.

Although the number of newspapers in circulation has increased, perhaps a more significant change has been in their content. In the repressive media environment of the Rawlings government, newspaper content was largely apolitical and dominated by sports coverage. Since the era of political liberalisation and notably the repeal of criminal defamation laws, political debate is more prevalent. There are also a number of special interest papers now in print.

There are 34 daily newspapers and 72 non-daily newspapers in Ghana. The State-owned Daily Graphic and Daily Independent are still obviously pro-government in their reporting. They represent one side of a partisan split in the print media which often represents the political interests of the owners, either for the government or the opposition. The concepts of neutrality and pluralism in content have yet to be fully represented in the print media, and editorial independence from ownership and the distinction between editorial and factual content are yet to be established.

Although the start-up costs for newspapers are not prohibitively high, the problem of timely distribution has inhibited the creation of a truly national commercial newspaper to rival the Daily Graphic. To address this problem requires investment in infrastructure such as roads, but it may be surpassed by the creation of wireless national communications and the Internet, both of which are growing rapidly in the country.

The issuing of broadcasting licences is still used to control the sector, but in general there has been significant liberalisation and expansion, greatly aided by the reduction in the barriers to entry to the broadcast media. The proliferation of television and radio stations has seen a diversification of the media from State monopoly to a principally commercial sector, and has also increased the amount of funds available for investment.

Standards for public service broadcasting and journalistic integrity are loosely established in both the NMC’s Handbook on Broadcasting Standards and the GJA’s Code of Ethics, but there is no compulsion for broadcasters to follow these guidelines and commercial pressures are often too great to allow programming to serve the public interest.

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)’s monopoly of radio and television broadcasting was broken in 1996. Since 1992 the GBC has been constitutionally insulated from government control, although the efficacy of this insulation is doubted by those who observe GBC bias towards the incumbent party, particularly at election time.

Although the breaking of the government monopoly in the broadcast sector precipitated some growth, it was the repeal of the criminal libel laws in 2001 that prompted a surge, particularly in the number of radio stations and in their commercialisation. There are currently 129 radio stations on air in Ghana. Radio is also the medium where local content and languages and public service broadcasting are best represented. The proliferation of radio receivers and mobile phones means that phone-in programs have become a useful tool for establishing the popular voice.

New Technologies

The number of mobile phone users has grown greatly in recent years; recent figures put the number at approximately 2.8 million out of a population of 23 million. The Internet sector is well developed and Ghana became the first sub-Saharan country to have full Internet connectivity, although with only an estimated 401,300 Internet users. Aside from the usual constraints on growth, such as the high costs, there is a huge gap between major urban centres and rural areas, where sometimes the only information sources are State-owned national radio and television stations. The capital Accra has the majority of cyber cafes in the country, which are the most popular way of accessing the Internet. Although a majority of private companies have Internet access, many of them restrict its use to IT departments and top-level management.

Repression of Media Workers

Journalists continue to face violence and intimidation, some of which is alleged to have government origins. Ghana has experienced a rising number of assaults against journalists, often the result of actions by the local police. There is therefore a need for the government to take more responsibility and train the police on how to deal with the media. In September 2006, the GJA threatened to take legal action as ‘the rising incidence of physical attacks on the media by individuals poses a serious threat to press freedom and the right of people to know’.

Samuel Kwabena Ennin, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GJA, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in February 2007. His murder remains unsolved.

Media Censorship

The Constitution states that ‘there shall be no censorship in Ghana’ (Article 162(2)). According to the 1994 Emergency Powers Act, however, the government has the power to censor any reports from or about an area declared to be affected by a state of emergency. In 2002, when President Kufuor declared a state of emergency in the northern Dagbon region following deadly inter-clan clashes, he censored news reports which did not refer to an official press release. Although it has been reported that in this case the news media largely disregarded the restriction without facing punishment, the government could use the Emergency Powers Act to censor critical or unfavourable reporting, thus reports could be qualified as inflammatory by government authorities.

Art Censorship

Some groups with a moralistic agenda have called on the NCA to ban the playing of Hiplife, the local Ghanaian version of Hip Hop, from the radio. Hiplife, which they consider ‘profane music’, currently enjoys great success in the country. Its artists are extremely outspoken and its critics accuse it of promoting ‘social vices’ among the country’s youth. However, music and especially rap are important in Ghana as a means to express dissatisfaction and raise awareness of social and political issues.