A senior Political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, has described the Presidential encounter with the media as ‘useless’ and must be “abolished”.
Dr. Gyampo believed the encounter is a mere formality for the president to acquaint himself with the media and the journalists present were there to grace the occasion.
Nana Akufo-Addo on Wednesday January 17, 2018, hosted hundreds of journalists at the Flagstaff House in Accra, for a question-and-answer session to mark one year of his administration.
The Presidential media encounter which was instituted by former President John Agyekum Kuffour was to meet journalists and ask questions that are bothering the country.
Speaking in an interview with OTEC NEWS on Wednesday January 17 after the encounter, Dr. Gyampo said some journalists who had the opportunity in asking questions, “asked irrelevant and unnecessary questions which were not bothering on improving the lives of ordinary Ghanaians.”
He said most questions asked were just to praise the president, instead of bring to fore issues affecting the nation that need immediate attention.
“There are issues like unemployment, increment of fuel prices, cost of living among others that need to be addressed, but they go there and you hear praising the president. In my view if that continues then it should be scrapped; it is not the forum to sing praises and ask unnecessary questions,” he said.
He asked journalist to ask sensitive questions which have direct bearing on the lives of the ordinary Ghanaians whenever they have the opportunity of meeting the president or any government appointee.
Source: otecfmghana.com/ Evans Agyei Sikapa
