An Afrobarometer survey has revealed that 72 percent of Ghanaians feel the media is not free to report or comment on the news without government interference.
With only 19% of Ghanaians of the view that the media is free to do so, the second-lowest perception of media freedom among African countries.
“Seven in 10 Ghanaians (72%) say the media is ‘not very free’ or ‘not at all free’ to report or comment on the news without government censorship or interference. Only two in 10 (19%) think the media is ‘somewhat free’ or ‘completely free’ to do so, the second-lowest perception of media freedom among eight countries surveyed in 2019.”
The CDD report also noted that 65 percent of Ghanaians want the media to have the right to broadcast any views and ideas without government restrictions.
“Two-thirds of Ghanaians (65%) say the media should have the right to publish any views and ideas without government restrictions, a 29-percentage-point increase after a sharp dip to 36% in the 2017 survey. Three in 10 respondents (30%) say the government should have the right to prevent publications it disapproves of.”
The report’s findings also added that support for media freedom is widespread among all key socio-demographic groups.
This support “increases significantly with education (76% among those with post-secondary education vs. 59% among those with no formal education). Young adults (66% among those aged 18-35 years), men (69%), and urban residents (69%) are more likely to favour media freedom than older, female, and rural respondents.”
The report again pointed out support for the media’s watchdog role remains high “Eight in 10 Ghanaians (82%) say the media should constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption, a 7-percentage-point increase compared to 2014.”
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.
The Afrobarometer team in Ghana is led by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and sampled some 2,400 adult Ghanaians between September 16, 2019, and October 3, 2019.
“A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Ghana in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2017.”
Source: ABCNewsgh.com
