Former President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday said he had no regrets for repeal of the Criminal Libel Law under his administration, but stressed that the freedom given to the media must be reciprocated with great responsibility.
He pointed out that even though press freedom was necessary in promoting the young democracy and good governance in Ghana and Africa,
absolute freedom of the media without boundaries could lead to abuse of power and fundamental human rights and threaten national security.
�Based on these personal reservations, I would be more cautious about the Sedition Law, which was critical, to ensure national security and peaceful co-existence of the citizenry,� President Kufuor added.
President Kufuor made the observation when interacting with the Ghanaian media at a forum organised by the management of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Repeal of the Criminal Libel Law in Ghana and an opportunity to share his experience about the media during his tenure of office.
He said the Ghanaian media could favourably be compared with other practitioners in Africa and other international sectors, adding �you are not doing so badly at all,� and encouraged young journalists to exhibit great sense of professionalism in their reportage to help promote socio-economic development of the nation.
President Kufuor said his government�s decision to repeal the Criminal Libel Law was as a result of the fact that while in opposition the New Patriotic Party (NPP) failed to get the required access and assistance of the media due to the �culture of silence� that prevailed out of fear of victimisation.
�I believe that man must be left and allowed to think, reason and express him or herself without any interference or limitations,� saying this ideology became the cornerstone of the NPP�s belief that a free man was more productive than the enslaved man and therefore decided that once it came to power, it would respect and accord the media its fundamental right so as to make it more relevant towards the achievement of good governance,� he said.
President Kufuor confessed that he had little time to read most newspapers, however, he enjoyed reading publications including the Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, New Crusading Guide, the Daily Guide whose cartoons he loved, as well as listen and view news items, entertaining as well as
education programmes on both radio including Peace and Joy FM as well as Radio Ghana and on GTV, TV Africa, TV3 and Metro TV.
He stated that as the most powerful Fourth Estate of the Realm, the media was not properly accountable to any authority and asked that the
National Media Commission (NMC) be strengthened to be able to play the watch dog role on the media and properly apply sanctions such as possible withdrawal of certificates of irresponsible journalists from active practice.
President Kufuor answered various questions including the alleged purchase of a hotel by his son, having twins with another woman outside
wedlock and alleged implication in a five-billion-dollar Kuwaiti oil deal.
He refuted all of them and referred to them as deliberate lies and cheap propaganda that were programmed by his opponents to defame his
government in an election year and cautioned journalists against accepting gifts aimed at influencing their reportage.
On his view on the Freedom of Information Bill, President Kufuor stated that there was the need to conduct further research into the draft bill, to weigh its pros and cons before passage into law.
He pointed out that Parliament did not have enough time to debate on the Broadcasting Law because it was introduced at a time when Members had almost completed their term and were preparing for re-elections.
President Kufuor declined to append his signature in support of a �Declaration of Table Mountain� campaign aimed at abolishing insults and criminal defamation laws in Africa, and setting a free press higher on the agenda.
He pleaded for time to access and thoroughly read the document before taking a decision.
Professor Kwame Karikari, Executive Director of MFWA, thanked President Kufuor for accepting the invitation and availing himself to freely interact with the media.