Ghanaian media failing in watchdog duties — Sulemana Braimah

The Ghanaian media is doing less than a quarter of what is expected of it in holding those in power accountable, according to the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).

Sulemana Braimah made these comments during an interview on Accra-based JoyNews’ AM Show on Friday, April 19.

Mr. Braimah said while some media organizations are doing their job of keeping a close watch on those in authority, a generalization of the entire Ghanaian media shows it is falling short.

"I mean you can point to isolated media organisations but if you are to generalise, we can say that we are not even a quarter of what we should do. But the question to ask is, why?" Mr. Braimah said.

He cited the recent report by investigative media house Fourth Estate as an example of good journalism but noted how their work is received online.

"Talk about the recent report by the Fourth Estate, go online and see the kind of arguments people are putting out. So weird, so bizarre. But they must do that in order to survive. They must do that and run to their paymasters and say 'have you seen that I am defending you' - so that they can survive because it’s almost like that’s the only way to survive as far as some people are concerned," Braimah added.

The MFWA boss called on journalists and media houses to stand up for principles.

He pointed to Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye who went to prison for his beliefs but was willing to make that sacrifice.

"People are forgetting the fact that, by standing firm and standing upright in defense of certain principles, in defense of democracy and all of that, he had to go to prison. He was prepared to do that. He knew why he was being taken to prison but he was prepared to do that," Braimah said.

He further stressed that rebuilding societal values starts with leadership, calling for leaders who prioritize doing the right thing to inspire others to follow.