Media in Ghana are “often irritating" - Pres Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has said although Ghana’s media are “often irritating and irksome”, he would rather “put up with a reckless press than a monotonous, praise-singing one.”

Speaking at the London School of Economics’ Africa Summit on the theme: “Africa At Work: Educated, Employed And Empowered”, the Ghanaian leader said: “The media in Ghana has come into its own, and what used to be called the culture of silence has been replaced with a cacophony that now worries some.

“I have said it before, and I believe it bears repeating, I would much rather put up with a reckless press than a monotonous, praise-singing one”.

According to Akufo-Addo, “A democracy has no place for a media that does not keep public authorities on their toes. I acknowledge that we are all still trying to keep pace with the changing technology, and work out how we deal with social media, and, dare I say it, the phenomenon of fake news. (I shall not say more on that, and leave it to those more knowledgeable on that subject).

“But I am a firm believer in a strong and vibrant media, and I have no doubt that it is a force for good, no matter how irritating and how irksome they can be and often are. They provide the avenue for the other point of view”, President Akufo-Addo added.

President Akuffo-Addo describing the pathetic picture of how African countries are robbed of their resources by people who parade themselves as investors, called for Africa to work as a block to strengthen their economies and protect themselves from investment opportunist.

Akuffo-Addo referred to a South African panel, chaired by Thabo Mbeki, whose findings identified that $50billion is flown out of Africa annually; robbing the continent of the resources to develop itself, adding that only Africans can rectify this trend and not depend on the West or its governments.

He expressed his support for the Continental Free Trade agreements to strengthen African block as a trading pillar that does not require compromise but determines the trading terms as China has done.

Using Ghana as an example, the president Akufo-Addospoke about the need for Africa to grow beyond aid through the empowerment of the youth through the use of technological advancement, education and skills training that create jobs for the continent.