Edmond Gyebi, Tamale
7 October 2008
The Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Prof. Gyimah Boadi has tasked Journalists in the Northern region to promote issue-based reporting instead of attacking personalities, especially in this coming election.
He also urged them to ensure balanced reportage in this electioneering period, remain impartial, ask constructive questions and follow up on previous reportages to make sure that the electorate are well informed about national policies and programmes.
Prof Gyimah Boadi was speaking at a one-day workshop organized by the Centre for Democracy and Development to prepare media practitioners towards the crucial December election in Tamale recently.
Discussions at the workshop covered variety of topics with focus on the role of the media in covering a democratic election, the mandate to remain impartial and respecting media ethics in elections in Ghana and elsewhere.
Mr. Boadi encouraged the participants to avoid writing one-sided stories but rather try to be balanced. He also urged them to stop being judgmental on issues but rather learn to always leave readers or listeners to do the judging.
However, problems facing journalists in their various media organizations were also pointed out, which include deliberate refusal of media owners to pay their reporters, unwilling to provide them with state-of-the-art gadgets and lack of refresher courses to upgrade their skills, among others.
The about 30 journalists who attended the workshop, from Upper East, Upper West and the Northern Regions called for more training programmes by organizations like the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD) and other stakeholders to make them live up to expectation.
In a related development Hip-Life Star, Bice Osei-Kuffour, known in the showbiz fraternity as Obour, has called on politicians, especially those in the Northern region to stop beating war drums and inflaming passion in their desperate attempt to win political power.
Leading a well-attended peace walk dubbed -"1 Ghana Peace Begins with Your Walk 08" through the principal streets of Tamale, Obour charged the politicians not to extend their personal differences into the national political arena, thereby endangering the peace in the country.
"There have never been a warlike people but rather warlike leaders. He said political leaders' behaviour, body language and utterances are paramount and should be watched, especially during elections.
According to the Peace Ambassador, most of the politically related violence came as a result of provocative utterances and body languages of our political leaders. He indicated that politics was all about ideas and how to find solutions to the many challenges that confront the nation, and not been vindictive.
The Hip-Life Legend, now known as "President Obour", noted that Ghanaians have had their fair share of civil unrests in the past and are now focusing on how to improve upon their lives, especially the youth. He therefore, cautioned the youth to fiercely reject any politician or persons who who would give them weapons for their own destruction.
President Obour also urged the youth to desist from using violence to address grievances but rather follow the laid down procedure at all times.
On the other hand, the Hip-Life Celebrity joined forces with other popular musicians in Tamale for the "1 Ghana peace concert" at the New Tamale Sports Stadium. Over 12,000 peace loving people attended the Peace Concert where President Obour's Manifesto album was outdoored.
Some of the Musicians included the President of Hip-Life Music in the North, Kawastone, George Cliff, Densi, Abada, Tuba Buster and others.
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