The Clerk of Parliament, Mr Cyril Nsiah has stated that the House will provide tools and conducive environment for parliamentary press corps to help them improve their work.
Speaking at a two-day sensitisation workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps on “A knowledgeable Parliamentary Reporter as a Promoter of Multi-party Parliamentary Democracy,” at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Nsiah underscored the important role the media plays in disseminating and reporting on proceedings in the chamber.
“It is the media which conveys to the people the nature of business transacted in parliament, the substance of parliamentary legislation and discussion, thereby enhancing public perception of Parliament. The media keeps the people informed of what is happening in Parliament. The significant role played by the press earned it the accolade “the Fourth Estate” in a democratic polity. Both the Press and Parliament, which serve the public interest, are vital for the success as well as the smooth functioning of our democracy.”
“The role of the Press Corps is crucial to the sustainability and growth of parliamentary democracy, particularly in our current dispensation where we have a Parliament with a rather unique composition. Now more than ever, the tenets of our democratic credentials are being tested, and how we navigate this period and its associated complexities will determine how far we travel on the path of democracy and development, as a nation,” he added.
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Mr Nsiah also touched on the challenges affecting the media in the discharge of their duties in Parliament and highlighted the commitment of the House to building the capacity of members.
“In demonstrating a commitment to strengthening its partnership with the media, Parliament recently completed and handed over to the Press Corps, a well-equipped office to facilitate the discharge of its duties. Similarly, the Parliamentary Service, in recognition of the strategic importance of the Press Corp to the work of Parliament has provided the requisite support for the organisation of this workshop. This is no doubt, a testament of the desire and commitment of the Service to ensure that the members of the Press Corp are well-positioned and capacitated to provide balanced and accurate reportage on matters relating to Parliament.”
Explaining further, he added that “the citizenry has a lot of trust and confidence in journalists, such that they virtually believe or take the information you circulate in the public domain as factual and truthful. This underscores why you must always endeavour to crosscheck your information before reporting on them because it is always difficult to reverse inaccurate or false reportage once it is fed to the public.”
“Please pay close attention, interrogate the issues, seek expert opinion and adhere to the tenets of your profession at all times,” he added.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Afia Kwarteng Asamani
