Ghana improves standing on 2024 Press Freedom Index
Ghana has made improvements on its ranking on the Global Press Freedom Index for 2024, moving from 62 to 50.
While that is moving 12 spots up, it should be noted that the country had dropped 30 spots from 2021 to 60 in 2022 before sliding further to 62 in 2023, among 108 countries in the world.
According to the Index published by the press freedom organization, Reporters without Borders (RSF) annually on World Press Freedom Day which falls on May 3, no attack on journalists has been recorded in 2024.
It however noted that journalists’ safety has seriously deteriorated in recent years, stating that several attacks on press freedom have been registered, including the intrusion of ruling party supporters into a TV studio and an attack on a journalist during a live report in October 2023.
“Politicians have also made death threats against investigative journalists. Most cases of police violence against journalists are not pursued. The same goes for murders of journalists: five years after the brutal death of investigative reporter Ahmed Hussein-Suale, the investigation has ground to a halt. Worse still, the attorney general and justice minister told Parliament in early 2024 that criminal prosecutions had not been initiated due to lack of evidence,” the report said.
The report also indicates that elections in sub-Saharan Africa have resulted in a great deal of violence against journalists and the media by political actors and their supporters. This is what happened in Nigeria (ranked 112th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index), where nearly 20 reporters were attacked in early 2023. In Madagascar (100th), ten were attacked by political activities during pre-election protests. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (123rd), where politicians often try to intimidate media personnel, the journalist Stanis Bujakera’s detention pending trial on a trumped-up charge prevented him from covering the run-up to the elections.
During elections, politicians also tried to use the media as instruments for exercising influence and imposing authority. This was seen in Senegal (94th), the DRC and Nigeria, where politicians have sometimes created their own media outlets, the report stated.
Globally, the report notes that press freedom around the world is being threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors – political authorities.
According to the report, of the five indicators used to compile the ranking, it is the political indicator that has fallen most, registering a global average fall of 7.6 points.
It states that a growing number of governments and political authorities are not fulfilling their role as guarantors of the best possible environment for journalism and for the public’s right to reliable, independent, and diverse news and information.
“RSF sees a worrying decline in support and respect for media autonomy and an increase in pressure from the state or other political actors,” it added.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi