The call by President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for a concerted effort to eliminate fake news from the Ghanaian media landscape and the fabric of society dominates the headlines of Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for a concerted effort to eliminate fake news from the Ghanaian media landscape and the fabric of society.
The report said that the Ghanaian leader stated that it was great that people no longer had to wait till the following morning to find out what happened the previous day, thanks to technology.
However, the same technology, he indicated, was being used to promote the phenomenon of people manufacturing falsehood and fake stories, which easily passed as news.
“It is not only alarming but also poses a serious threat and danger to the very fabric of society. We must all make a concerted effort to eliminate this phenomenon from our media space,” he stressed.
President Akufo-Addo made the call in a keynote address at a ball organised last Saturday at the plush Labadi Beach Hotel as part of activities climaxing the 70th anniversary of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL).
The newspaper says that Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has presented GH¢200,000 in cash to the victims of the collapsed Church of Prosperity building at Akyem Batabi, near Oda, in the Eastern Region.
The beneficiaries of the gesture are the eight survivors and the representatives of the 22 who died in the disaster on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.
Dr. Bawumia made the presentation yesterday when he visited the site of the disaster and then held a meeting with the survivors and relatives of the deceased.
He promised that the government would take over all the medical expenses of the survivors.
At the same event, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alfa Gold Ghana Limited, Mr. Alfred Nyarko Kissi, presented a cheque for GH¢10,000 for the upkeep of the eight survivors and the funeral expenses of the 22.
At the ceremony, Dr Bawumia wished the survivors speedy recovery and consoled the families of the dead.
The Times reports that Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, United Nations (UN) Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel has led a joint high-level mission from the UN and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to prompt Ghana of free and fair elections come December 7.
The members of the delegation included Mr. Charles Abani, UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana and Mr Baba Gana Wakil, Special Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Ghana.
Dr. Chambas, who led the delegation to the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey last Friday, said the visit was to remind Ghanaians of the need to support peaceful, inclusive, transparent and credible general elections.
He said the joint mission had been touring nations in the sub-region, which were scheduled to hold elections between now and the close of the year, and was “in Ghana to remind citizens of the impeccable records they had set for themselves in the conduct of credible elections.”
Since their arrival, he said they had met with the chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), who briefed them on their level of preparations towards the elections.
He said the Commission had assured them of credible elections and was not ready to dent the image Ghana had established for herself all these years.
”The delegation already has also met national executives of both the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) , the National Peace Council, National Commission for Small Arms and Light Weapons and other relevant stakeholders in a forum in Accra,” he stated.
Madam Ayorkor Botchwey commended work done by the team so far towards the conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections and for the ongoing efforts to calm tension in Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire.
She noted that Ghana held in high esteem her commitment to democracy, good governance, the respect for human rights and rule of law which “have underpinned our political dispensation.”
GIK/APA