Kumasi, – The Ghanaian media must strengthen its watchdog role by highlighting corrupt practices and leading the crusade against the canker in society.
They should prioritise and effectively investigate the issue of corruption in their daily editorial activities and highlight its negative impact to promote good governance in the country.
Dr George Ayisi-Boateng, former Ghana Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, stated these during an interaction with some selected senior journalists in Kumasi on Monday.
The meeting was to discuss how the media could play an effective role in changing the narratives and the mind set of Ghanaians on corrupt practices and its impact on the country’s economy as well as how the media could bring everybody on board to nip the canker in the bud.
Dr Ayisi-Boateng noted that the country did not need to enact new laws to fight against corruption, but rather, the existing laws needed to be implemented effectively to help reduce corruption.
“We have laws to fight against corruption, we do not need to enact new laws. What we need to do is to implement the laws to help reduce corruption in Ghana,” he stated.
He said the fight against corruption must be extended beyond public sectors to include all sectors of the society.
According to him, the public sector was the main focus when the subject of corruption was raised, saying that this had made it difficult for the nation to make significant progress with its anti-corruption efforts.
Dr. Ayisi-Boateng charged the media to uphold the integrity of Ghana and find holistic ways to help the government fight against corruption and also change the mind-set of Ghanaians.
The Ambassador lauded the government’s effort at introducing skills training to help the youth in the country acquire employable skills to work on their own rather than looking up to government for jobs after graduation.
He commended the Minister of Education for leading the charge to transform the country’s education and put it on a pedestal that would equip the youth to contribute meaningfully to national development agenda.
Dr Ayisi-Boateng said placing emphasis on technical and vocational training as well as science, mathematics, technology and innovation, was the new path to take to build the capacities of the youth to take the leadership of the country in the future.
Source: Ghana News Agency