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Veep
asks media to defend the rights of the individual
Kumasi, Nov. 3, Ghanadot/GNA -
Vice President Aliu Mahama on Friday urged the media to
respect the rights and freedoms of the individual in order
to sustain public confidence in their reportage.
He said Government's great respect for the media and the
freedom of expression should be reciprocated by the
commitment of journalists to be honest and defend the truth
at all times.
Vice President Mahama gave the advice when he interacted
with management and staff of The Pioneer, a private
newspaper as part of a four-day tour of the Ashanti Region.
The paper, reputed to be the oldest newspaper in Ghana, was
founded by the late John Wallace Tsiboe on September 7, 1939
in Kumasi.
Vice President Mahama commended management and editorial
staff for their fortitude, which he said, had helped to
sustain the paper through the turbulent period of their
operations.
"Your paper stood for the truth, democracy and honesty," he
said, stressing that Ghana's democratic process had
benefited from the rich history.
Vice President Mahama also lauded The Pioneer for being the
bulwark of the Busia-Danquah tradition, which had nurtured
liberal democracy in Ghana.
He donated two computers and accessories to the paper and
pledged to support it to solve its numerous problems, which
span the lack of capital and obsolete printing machine and
equipment.
Mr Johnson Gyampoh, Editor of the Pioneer, noted that
although the paper played a leading role in the political
campaign that brought the New Patriotic Party to power, the
Government had not supported it.
"The Pioneer has today become a ghost of its past glory. As
a result of the competition in the printing industry, we are
limited in doing certain jobs in which we were leaders in
the past.
"The payment of salaries to our staff, who have all these
years been able to sacrifice, has become a problem on the
company".
Mr Gyampoh said the late Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime
Minister of the Second Republic once visited the company and
presented a car to facilitate circulation of the newspaper.
He lauded Alhaji Mahama for being the first Vice President
to visit the company.
GNA
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