Corruption fight: ‘Nothing wrong with GJA’s statement’ – Suhuyini

The Member of Parliament for the Tamale North Alhassan Suhuyini has slammed the response of the coalition of anti-corruption civil society organizations to the statement by the GJA, cautioning investigative journalists to desist from media trial.

“What did Affail Monney say wrong? If you have issues with him, you can make it known,” he told Morning Starr Host Francis Abban Friday September 8, 2017.

In the statement, the GII, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Citizens Movement against Corruption, Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability described GJA’s admonition as “sinister.”

Despite admitting the GJA’s statement was apt, the coalition believed that the timing was wrong.

But in an editorial Tuesday on his show — Good Evening Ghana — Paul Adom Otchere slammed the coalition for criticizing the GJA’s statement.

In a 41-minute long TV monologue, the senior Broadcast Journalist among other things launched scathing attacks on Multimedia’s Manasseh Azure Awuni over his recent publications on Jospong Group of Companies.

In her reactions, however, the Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) Linda Ofori Kwafo described Mr. Adom Otchere’s retorts as unfortunate.

“We know what we are about and it is insulting for Paul to sound that way,” she stated on Morning Starr Thursday September 7, 2017.

The Tamale North lawmaker, however, disagreed, quizzing, “what was wrong with the GJA cautioning its members? Haven’t we been talking about ethics? Haven’t we?”

He continued, “the civil societies that criticized this statement…haven’t they been complaining about ethics in broadcasting and in our work as journalists. And if the GJA chose to remind its members of the need to be circumspect in the discharge of their duties [what’s wrong]? Did the GJA say don’t do investigative story on any business? Was that a fiat? Did you [civil societies] see any fiat in that statement of the GJA that said as a journalist don’t do an investigative story on any business? No. it is simply a caution that your work should not be aimed at tarnishing the image of people in business and like Paul indicated there are examples of businesses that we have dealt with unfairly in the media.”