Why Ghana slumped to 60th in World Press Freedom Index
One of the most touted countries in press freedom Ghana, has recently slumped 30 places in the current 2022 World Press Freedom index.
The 2022 index put together by the campaign group, Reporters Without Borders saw Ghana clinch the 60th position after placing 30th in 2021.
This unfortunately has been Ghana’s lowest-ever ranking in 17 years after it ranked 66th and 67th in 2005 and 2002 respectively.
According to the latest report out of 180 countries assessed, Ghana recorded a decline in its indicative points from 78.67 per cent to 67.43 compared to last year.
It reveals the fact that although the country is considered a regional leader in democratic stability, media practitioners have experienced growing pressures in recent years.
“To protect their jobs and their security, they increasingly resort to self-censorship, as the government shows itself intolerant of criticism”, the report mentioned.
Reporters Without Borders further revealed that the safety of Ghanaian journalists has deteriorated sharply in recent years.
The campaigners for instance cited 2020, saying reporters covering the effectiveness of anti-COVID-19 measures were attacked by security forces.
That is not the only grounds. Ghanaian political leaders are said to be making death threats against investigative journalists.
“Nearly all cases of law enforcement officers attacking journalists are not pursued, ” it said.
The methodology used in bringing out the report
The Index captures the situation in the 180 countries and territories during the calendar year (January-December) before its publication.
However, it is meant to be seen as an accurate reflection of the situation at the time of publication.
When the press freedom situation dramatically changes in a country between the end of the year assessed and publication, the data is updated to take account of the most recent events possible.
This could be related to a new war, a coup d’état, an unprecedented or very unusual major attack on journalists, or the sudden introduction of an extreme repressive policy.
For the 2022 Index, this exceptional procedure was used with Russia, Ukraine and Mali.
Each country or territory’s score is evaluated using five contextual indicators that reflect the press freedom situation in all of its complexity: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.
The Index’s rankings are based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 that is assigned to each country or territory, with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst.
The United States Department of State recently also released its 2021 annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices which also cited key human rights issues in various countries across the world including Ghana.
Ghana featured in the report for several human rights cases of abuse including clamping down on free speech.
Some specific cases cited in the report included the killing of social activist, Kaaka in Ejura, and the arrest and abuse of Caleb Kudah of Citi Tv.
The death of investigator of the Tiger Eye PI team in the Number 12 exposé on corruption in Ghana football, Ahmed Saule has not yet been closed after he was shot dead by some unknown assailants in January 2019 at Madina in Accra
Before this, in July 2018, National Security personnel, in another notable incident, arrested and tortured two journalists after the publication of an article that criticized the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah.
Throughout the Akufo-Addo administration, has been criticized on these points, as well as the closure of some prominent pro-opposition radio stations.
The government’s response so far to these incidents has been largely condemned, with many suggesting that it gives the impression that the state is either complicit or tacitly supports such actions against journalists.
