Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, Lecturer, School of Communications, Legon, yesterday called on the government to provide resources to enable key information sources, particularly the state owned media, to gather and disseminate information throughout the country.

She said the government should regard the Ghana News Agency as a strategic national resource as was contained in consultant's report on the restructuring of the Agency.

Dr Gadzekpo was presenting a paper on: "The Role Of The Print Media" at a day's workshop for media practitioners in Accra.

She said: "The work of the GNA enables a valuable national information and public awareness link with rural areas and communities that, in turn, contributes to nation building, good governance, unity and integration and the growth of the democratic culture.

"As such, the GNA can be viewed as a socio-cultural institution providing a benefit that, though difficult to measure in financial terms contributes to the Agency's inherent value.

"Without the GNA and other state owned media, certain towns and communities would never be heard of in any decision-making forum", she said.

"The goal of development must be that the citizens, no matter their economic conditions or their state of depravation are adequately informed about government policies, development goals and democratic imperatives that will enable them to exercise their responsibilities and protect the country's transitional democracy."

Dr Gadzekpo said the vision of setting up the GNA 45 years ago is even more relevant in today's global environment. The vision then was that Ghana and African countries must counteract the domination and bias implicit in news flowing from Western information sources by setting up and controlling their own news.

She commended the government for the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law and the respect shown to the constitutional provision regarding the non-licensing of media and the insulation of state owned media from state interference.

However, "The real task still lies ahead. Beyond what the Constitution says, what should the national policy be regarding the press?"

Government had expressed a national vision of socio-economic development in a free market environment and a strong focus on poverty reduction, she said and added that Ghana, while not one of the architects of the New Partnership of African Development (NEPAD), had also expressed a strong commitment to NEPAD.

"But in order to promote and achieve these goals the right environment must be created and the press allowed to play those roles that complement the national development agenda," she said.