· Over Death Threat On GREDA Executives

By Larry-Alans Dogbey

Lawyers of the nation’s premier private radio station, Joy 99.7 FM are expected at the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today over the station’s recent claims that some executives of the Ghana Real Estate Developer’s Association (GREDA) were forced by threats of death to withdraw a petition against the STX Housing Project from Parliament.

Mr. Shadrack Arhin, lawyer for the station was at the CID headquarters in Accra yesterday, and met with the Acting Director General of the CID, Mr. Proper Agblor, but pleaded to be excused to report today.

But the Chief Operations Manager of the station, Mr. Ekyi Quam expressed shock at the summons when this paper reached him on phone yesterday. “Really? I am unaware of this,” he said and quickly hung up.

However, the Public Relations Officer of the CID, Chief Inspector Joseph Benefo-Darkwa insists that the CID indeed, summoned the management of the station on Wednesday, through his outfit to answer questions pertaining to the death threats carried by the station in its news bulletins.

He confirmed that Lawyer Arhin is expected at the headquarters today, to continue with the investigation which The Herald learnt is at the behest of the government.

A Deputy Minister of Information told this paper in an interview that the move is not an attempt to gag the media, but purely a criminal matter which must be investigated by the law enforcement agencies, and those found to have issued the threat prosecuted in a court of law.

Mr. Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, who disclosed this, insists Joy FM is a credible medium of information, which reaches far and wide, but care must be taken so that Ghana does not carry an image in the international community as a country where politicians resort to issuing death threats to have a policy implemented.

The government, he maintained respects freedom of the press and will not covertly or overtly try to gag any media house, adding, “They can report whatever they want, but death threats must not be treated lightly. And as a responsible government, we want to know who, when and in which medium was the threat issued and to whom.”

Meanwhile, there is a growing school of thought in the government that Joy FM, the nation’s premier private radio station does not see anything good with the present administration, and is busily trying to bring it down through its reportage and programmes. Mention has been of selection of discussants on its various programmes, especially those that have to do with shaping the direction of national policy issues example “News file” on Saturdays.

Others have said that Joy FM is paying back the government over an accusation by an officer in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Alhaji Ahalidu Haruna that two of its reporters, Stephen Anti and Sammy Darko, were involved in fabricating stories and also extorting money from a deputy minister of Information. This was however denied later by the deputy information minister James Agyenim Boateng.

Alhaji Ahalidu Haruna made the assertion after the station had carried a story which suggested that a former editor of the Daily Guide, Ebenezer Ato Sam alias Baby Ansaba, was blackmailed by the Vice President John Mahama, when he asked him to go on air and make scathing allegations about the former president Kufuor, after he (Baby Ansaba) had killed a man in a motor accident while driving without a license, and that the vice president had helped sort the matter out after the deed was done.

Therefore, Baby Ansaba had come out praising President Mills and his government, and damning the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime which he said never put him on any trip abroad, unlike the present regime, despite his being used for the party’s dirty work, including fabricating stories on the health status of then candidate Atta Mills to depreciate his chances of ruling this country.

But media watchers hold the view that the stance taken by Joy FM is not peculiar but simply a reflection of the divisions in the Ghanaian society where those media houses aligned to a particular political party, depending on which one is in power, sees every suggestion as wrong from the party not in office.

These inclinations have been said, albeit quietly, to be retarding national development.

It will be recalled that Government last week Tuesday asked the management of Joy FM, a private radio station in Accra to substantiate its claims that GREDA withdrew its petition against the STX Housing Project from Parliament because of death threats received by executives of the Association.

A statement issued by the Minister of Information said government had directed the security agencies to investigate the claim because death threats were not to be handled lightly.

According to Mr. John Tia Akologu, who signed the statement, “Government has taken note of a Joy FM report that claimed that its sources have confirmed to it that the Ghana Real Estate Developer’s Association (GREDA) withdrew its petition against the STX Housing Project from Parliament because of death threats received by executives of the Association,” the statement said.

It said “Government is deeply offended by the Joy FM publication and demands that the management of the station substantiates its claims immediately or retracts the allegations and apologize to the President, Government and people of Ghana accordingly.

It added that “Government finds it curious that the radio station presented no shred of evidence to support its false claim.

GREDA Executive Secretary Sammy Amegayibor, speaking ironically on a Joy FM sister station, Asempa FM on the same day (July 6, 2010) denied the claim of death threats, explaining that they came to their decision after further interactions with the Parliamentary Select Committees on Finance and Housing”.

The statement noted that despite these denials, management of the radio station went ahead to rebroadcast severally the false claim and published it on its news website. “Though the false claim of a death threat was not linked to any particular group, any discerning person is likely to conclude that since Government is the chief promoter of the STX deal, then Government might be behind the threat.

“This linkage was made stronger when Joy FM proceeded to claim falsely that some GREDA members were afraid their contracts with Government would be abrogated hence the change of mind,” it added.

The statement said the station, by this wild and deliberately concocted report cloaked in investigative pretensions, sought to cause fear and anxiety amongst the business community and the general citizenry. “Government, however, wishes to assure the people of Ghana including the business community of their safety and protection and the security of their interests and investments,” it said. The statement said publications like this did not only cast a slur on Government but on the entire image and credibility of Ghana and on the form of democracy all and sundry professed to practice.

“Like all Ghanaians, Government remains proud that Ghana has been described as the number one country in Africa in press freedom; nevertheless we also want to be proud of a responsible press devoid of lawlessness,” the statement said.