The Executive Director of Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has described as false, a claim by the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, on Ghana’s press freedom ranking.
According to him, the former President was given wrong information on the status of the country he once headed as Commander-in-Chief, as far as the press freedom ranking was concerned.
Mr Braimah wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that “President Mahama was given wrong apor on Ghana’s Press Freedom Rankings.” “His claims were false,” he added.
In his message to mark this year’s Press Freedom Day on May 3, Mr Mahama said that “according to Reporters Without Borders, during my Presidency, Ghana became the country with the highest levels of press freedom in Africa. At the time, we were ranked number one out of 54 countries in Africa. We placed 23rd on the global ranking among 180 countries.
“Three and half years later, we have slumped seven places on the global ranking and lost the number one spot in Africa to Namibia and Cape Verde. We have, unfortunately, lost this priceless status that made all of us very proud,” he added.
Meanwhile, Fact-Check Ghana, a project of the MFWA, which seeks to enhance fact-based public discourse, debates and decision making in Ghana’s democratic governance and development processes, has called out Mahama, who is seeking re-election.
The MFWA, following its fact check project, gave a verdict that the claim was “completely false.”
It posted on its website that “Ghana did not rank number one in Africa in any of the years that Mr. Mahama was President. Ghana did not also place 23rd globally in any of those years as he claimed, even though the country placed 22nd in 2015. Indeed, Ghana’s global ranking for 2020 (30th) is the same as that of 2013, which was Mr. Mahama’s first year in office. The ranking for 2019 (27th) is also the same as that of 2014 (President Mahama’s second year in office).
The only year Ghana topped Africa, since 2013, was 2018, when the country also ranked 23rd in the world.”
It posted the rankings from 2013 to 2020, in which Ghana was ranked 3rd and 30th in Africa and the world in 2013 respectively, 3rd and 27th for 2014, 2nd, and 22nd for 2015, 2nd and 26th for 2016 – all these under the first term of the Mahama-led administration.
Sourcing rsf.org, the MFWA indicated that “indeed, Ghana’s global ranking for 2020 (30th) is the same as that of 2013, which was Mr. Mahama’s first year in office. The ranking for 2019 (27th) is also the same as that of 2014 (President Mahama’s second year in office).
“The only year Ghana topped Africa since 2013, was 2018, when the country also ranked 23rd in the world.”
The Press Freedom Index is a ranking of countries compiled and published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), based on the assessment of press freedom records of countries.
The post Mahama’s claim on press freedom false -MFWA appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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