Ghana submitted its Letter of Intent to the United States’ Department of State, Office of
Democracy and Global Affairs in September 2011. The country is currently preparing its
Country Action Plan which outlines its commitments to opening government to citizens.
The country has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Wide
Foundation to implement a Ghana Open Data Initiative which aims at making
government data more available to the populace.
2.15
Media
The media in Ghana operate in relative freedom without harassment from authorities,
even though most newspapers and radio stations are openly partisan. During the year
there were spates of reckless statements and unsubstantiated allegations against persons,
usually political opponents, in the media. The Police acting under section 208 of the
Criminal Code arrested and detained media personnel for making such statements. The
reckless statements and the discriminatory application of the Criminal Code by the police
have the potential to undermine the freedom of speech enjoyed by citizens.
The national Broadcasting Bill has not been passed.
As part of efforts to build the capacity of the media, the government allocated GHC1
million to the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA).
OBJECTIVE 5: ENSURING ACCOUNTABLE, EFFICIENT AND
EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY AT THE NATIONAL AND
DECENTRALIZED LEVELS
The objective is to assess the procedures that are designed to ensure the
continuous accountability of officials, elected as well as appointed to public office.
Sixth Annual APRM Progress Report: January – December 2011
32