President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo highlighted Ghana’s strides in fostering free speech and a robust media environment during a recent address during the Independence Day on 6th March 2024.
He emphasized the country’s commitment to upholding these fundamental values, noting that dissenting voices find ample space for expression across various platforms. Despite these achievements, he acknowledged the ongoing need to enhance the quality of public discourse, signaling a continuous effort towards refinement.
Speaking at a gathering in the Eastern Region to commemorate Independence Day, President Akufo-Addo underscored Ghana’s journey towards a vibrant democratic system. He emphasized that the current state of affairs regarding free speech and media vitality is a testament to the nation’s progress since independence. This acknowledgment serves as a reminder of the collective effort required to sustain and improve Ghana’s democratic principles in the years ahead.
The President’s remarks shed light on Ghana’s evolving democratic landscape, emphasizing the importance of nurturing an environment where diverse opinions thrive. As Ghana celebrates its independence, President Akufo-Addo’s observations resonate as a call to action for continuous advancement in promoting free speech and media freedom—a journey intertwined with the nation’s democratic aspirations and its commitment to civil liberties.
More than a hundred years (100) of British rule had not prepared us in any way for democracy, there is nothing democratic about colonial rule, and, whatever we have today, we have worked out for ourselves.
All the defining elements of a democracy, that are part of our governance architecture today, we have had to fabricate ourselves. Everything we know about elections today, and we know quite a bit, we have learnt through hard practice, and, in the past thirty-one (31) years, we have been stable.
We have not got a perfect system, but, every time we have had elections during this 4th Republic, it has been an improvement on the previous occasion. We still have a lot more to learn especially when it comes to the tolerance of opposing views. But we also know that we dare not relapse, as there are many examples of countries that have disintegrated into chaos as a result of disputed elections.
We know that technology is a useful tool that we must embrace to make the electoral process more transparent, but we are very much aware that technology also now makes it possible and easier for the deliberate manipulation and propagation of falsehood to influence public opinion, he said.
