Ghana’s press freedom ranking: Are we actually improving?

The 2024 Press Freedom Index report released by Reporters Without Borders indicates that Ghana has risen 12 places from 62nd position in 2023 to 50th.

In terms of score the West African nation scored 67.71%, a 1.78 percentage point increase compared to 65.93% in 2023 the report indicated.

But can we say this is an improvement compared to where we were?

Ghana’s press freedom was termed “Satisfactory”.

For the past three years, there have been a series of challenges which has worsened the freedom of the press making the environment for journalism and for the public's right to reliable, independent, and diverse news and information difficult to live in. 

According to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), journalists have faced threats, arrests, detentions, and even torture from state agencies such as the police, military, and political operatives of political parties.

Political attacks on press freedom, including the suppression of independent media outlets and widespread dissemination of misinformation, have significantly intensified in the past years.

Here are some of the events that have occurred over the years.

JoyNews

Latif Iddrisu, a Ghanaian broadcast journalist for Joy FM radio station and JoyNews television channel, was beaten by a group of police officers at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters in the country’s capital, Accra, on March 27, 2018

Dagbon Radio

Sadiq Abubakari Gariba, a radio show host with Dagbon Radio, was attacked during a live radio programme on May 3, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day by a former Northern Regional Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Radio Ada

In March 2023, the deputy station coordinator of Radio Ada, Noah Dameh, was remanded by the Tema Circuit Court for publishing “false news” about a businessman.

It was in that year, that Ghana dropped to 3rd position in Africa and 27th in the world.

These events among others have contributed to the diminishing freedom of the press.

The only indicator that saw an improvement compared to 2023 was the security of the press which recorded 82.94%.

This shows that there is a lot of work to be done in the four remaining indicators.

Despite Ghana's reputation for democratic stability, journalists face increasing pressure, leading to self-censorship amid government intolerance for criticism.

China (111), Myanmar (70), Belarus (47), and Israel (38) contain about 46.6% of these journalists and media workers.

The report also indicated that there is a global fall in press freedom which is threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors.