Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), on Tuesday advised media practitioners to help promote and defend democracy to maintain national unity, peace and stability to enhance development.
He said Ghana has a free, responsible and accountable press, which should use its medium for balanced, fair, accurate and objective
reportage of news for national cohesion.
Mr Blay-Amihere gave the advice in Accra on Tuesday when he inaugurated the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) Board of Directors.
Mrs Felicia Gbesemete, a legal practitioner, chairs the 10-member board. The rest are Mrs Ophelia Ablor, Mrs Fati Braimah Mohammed,
Major General A. K. Abdulai (rtd), Ms Korkor Amarteifio, Mr Ernest Asamoah, Togbe Adom Dayi II, Mr Kwesi Afriyie Badu, Mr Joel Edmund
Nettey and Mr Kwabena Sarpong Anane, Acting Director-General of the GBC.
Mr Blay-Amihere said the 1992 Constitution had created a new enabling ecosystem for media freedom, free expression and the independence of the media, which he described as unprecedented in
Africa.
He said the NMC had through the exercise of its mandate encouraged Ghanaian journalists to take advantage of the new atmosphere to give their very best, to help promote and defend
democracy and maintain national unity, peace and stability through fair, balanced, accurate and objective reportage.
The NMC Chairman advised the incoming Board to work hard to meet the aspirations of the Corporation.
Mr Blay-Amihere said it was important for all public media to run on best practices in corporate governance with clear boundaries of
responsibilities for the governing boards, management and staff to achieve results.
He said the GBC over the years might have piled up mountains of challenges and therefore the temptation would always exist for governing boards to quicken solutions by direct interventions, which must be resisted.
Mr Blay-Amihere said GBC was facing a lot of challenges such as staff rationalisation, financial growth, self-sufficiency and
accountability and staff welfare.
He expressed the hope that with unity of purpose, the situation in the Corporation would improve.
Mr Sarpong Anane expressed joy that for the first time a woman was chairing the GBC board and called on her to use her motherly care
and skills to help turn around the fortunes of the Corporation.
He said GBC would continue to pursue its mandate as a public broadcaster and appealed to Ghanaians to continue to pay their TV
licences to help the Corporation to achieve its mandate.
Mrs Gbesemete called for co-operation from the GBC management and staff to ensure that the Corporation stood as the citadel of news and
development to remain a haven of working environment for staff.