An initiative of
the National Academy of Public Administration, 
and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
and the Bobst Center for Peace and Justice, 
Princeton University




Oral History Program 	Series: 		Elections
				Interview no.:	E5






Interviewee: 			Paul Adu-Gyamfi		

Interviewer:			Ashley McCants

Date of Interview:		13 August 2008

Location:			National Media Commission
      Accra
				Ghana		



Innovations for Successful Societies, Bobst Center for Peace and Justice
Princeton University, 83 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, New Jersey, 08544, USA www.princeton.edu/successfulsocieties

McCANTS:	This is elections interview number five with Mr. (Paul) Adu-Gyamfi at the National Media Commission in Accra, Ghana. It is August 13, 2008 and the interviewer is Ashley McCants. Thank you very much for-.  
 
ADU-GYAMFI:	It is a pleasure, you are most welcome.

McCANTS:	Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in the interview. I always like to begin these conversations by learning a little more about a person's personal background. Can you describe the position that you hold at the National Media Commission and the goals of this position?

ADU-GYAMFI:	Well, I think as you might have known, the National Media Commission is a creation of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the 1992 Constitution. The Commission was set up under law in 1993 and the membership is about 18, but it is institutional representation. You have various organizations, I represent the Bar Association on the Commission. We have representation from our law. Under the Constitution you have representation from the Bar Association. One from the Bar Association, one publishers and owners of private press, Ghana Writers Association and Ghana Library Association, Christian Group, that is the National Catholic Secretariat, the Christian Council, and the Ghana Pentecostal. Then one representation from the Federation of Muslim Councils and Ahmadiyya Mission. Then also the training institution, that is journalists and communicators, Ghana Advertising Association and the Institute of Public Relations, the National Association of Teachers, the National Council of Women in Development, Trade Unions, the Institution of Private Brokers, two representatives nominated by the Ghana Journalists Association, two appointed by the President and three persons nominated by Parliament. 

	After the members have been constituted then the members themselves, under law, who nominate, who elect their own Chairman. The whole idea is to insulate the Chairman from governmental political control so that here the Chairman of the Commission is elected by the members themselves. It is important to know that under Article 166 of the constitution a person who is a founding member of a political party, is a leader or a member of his executive or holds any office in the political party is not qualified to be a member of this Commission. This is to, as I've indicated to you, to ensure that the Commission is insulated from political or governmental control.     

McCANTS:	And what are your specific responsibilities and goals here at the Commission?

ADU-GYAMFI:	Pardon?

McCANTS:	What are your specific role and responsibilities?

ADU-GYAMFI:	The primary purpose of the National Media Commission is one, as indicated in the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to ensure the freedom and independence of the media and to make sure that the state-owned media is insulated from governmental control. As a result of that it is the Commission which appoints the chief executives of the state-owned media. The Constitution ensures that we promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media, insulate the state-owned media from government control and also take appropriate measures to ensure the establishment and maintenance of the highest journalistic standards. So these are the goals set up under the Constitution for the National Media Commission.

McCANTS:	Can you tell me more about the jobs that you have held before you took this position with the National Media Commission?

ADU-GYAMFI:	The position of the Chairman?

McCANTS:	Yes.

ADU-GYAMFI:	The Chairman under the law is one of the members, he is selected from one of the members. But the election is conducted like any other election. Any of the members can nominate you. If there are more contestants-in my case I have been elected and I was re-elected. Somebody nominated me and I got elected. The Chairman's primary function is to ensure that meetings are called and when there is a meeting he chairs the meeting. But it is, his position is no different from other members, but it is only when we are going to vote, there is something which must be voted for and there is a tie, that was where the Chairman may have the casting vote. Other than that the Chairman only chairs the meeting. He has the prerogative, with the Executive Secretary, to summon any meeting. But under the law we have to meet at least once every two months, every quarter we have to meet. But we used to meet, depending upon the exigencies we are meeting almost every month but we decided where we don't have much to do then we meet once every two months. At our meetings, luckily for us, apart from me coming from Kumasi, all the members are basically in Accra here.   

McCANTS:	What are the eligibility requirements for being appointed to the Commission and who makes the appointments?

ADU-GYAMFI:	As I indicated to you from the list that I gave you, it is institutional representation. But in the light of our mandate, I think the institution is required to nominate somebody here but I think that they take into consideration whether the person can effectively help to perform the functions. I used to be the President of the Bar Association for three years. After I finished serving my term that my association nominated me to be here. So we don't have any basic qualifications, any at all. Anybody who comes here, I think, I presume, should like to have a free and independent press. That should be the basic consideration. But under the Constitution there is no basis, there is no qualification tied to any membership. The only disqualification is that if you hold any office within a political party, are a founding member, you cannot be a member of this Commission, that is all.     

McCANTS:	How would you describe the relationship of the Commission to the government?

ADU-GYAMFI:	Well, so far as the Commission is concerned, if we have anything actually to do with government it is in respect to financing. We are to be financed from the government, that is a consolidated fund that we have in Ghana here. But the law says that in our appointment of chief executives of the state-owned media we have to do that in consultation with the government, with the President. The consultation, the Commission it says, if I may like to refer to-. 

	When we are appointing members of the Commission, like we appointed the Executive Secretary, the law says that the Commission shall appoint the officers and other employees of the Commission in consultation with the Public Service Commission. In that case, insofar as the officers are concerned, but it says editors of state-owned media shall be appointed by the governing bodies in respective corporations in consultation with the Public Service Commission. But the Commission shall appoint the chairman and other members of the governing bodies managing in consultation with the President. So it is the appointment of Chairmen and other board members that will have to constitute these things in consultation with the President.

	I think that the issue is all that, what is all this consultation means. I think it is only fair that if you are going to do something in consultation with somebody, at least it should be possible to sit down and talk about it. But so far as I can say, what I would have done here, since I became a member of this Commission, almost five years ago, and also the appointment that we have made, the President may suggest, will have a list, you may consider this list for the Commission. The government, for that matter, the President has never, on any occasion said that this person should be by all means a member. Apart from the fact that he, the President, has his two nominees here, that is wkithin his prerogative, and parliament has three nominees, it is within their prerogative to send anybody. But so far as appointing the public board is concerned, the President may send some names for consideration by the Commission. But I can assure you that under no circumstances has the President insisted that this person should be appointed, this is left entirely with the Commission.        

McCANTS:	Can the President or the executive branch dismiss people appointed to the Commission?

ADU-GYAMFI:	No, no. I think we are elected for three years, a term of three years. Under the law a person may be renominated to be here for another three-year term. Thereafter you cannot be a member consecutively, you cannot be a member. But I think that any group, any constituent group which has nominated somebody here can withdraw that person if they so desire. But under no circumstances can the President dismiss or any group dismiss anybody who has not been nominated by that group. But if they are recalling its member, then we cannot-if they say this is our representative, we want him to come back we cannot prevent it, by which I think we only have to draw the attention that he has a mandate for a three-year period. But if they think that he cannot serve a three-year period they can withdraw the member.  

McCANTS:	Can the executive branch alter or withhold funding allocations? 

ADU-GYAMFI:	Financial?

McCANTS:	Yes.

ADU-GYAMFI:	How the institution is governed for instance?

McCANTS:	You mentioned earlier that it is financed from the government's consolidated funds.

ADU-GYAMFI:	Yes.

McCANTS:	Can the government withhold funding?

ADU-GYAMFI:	Well, our budget is tied to the national budget. Therefore if an approval has been given for so much for a project and you send it there-you are doing the project and you send it there, if money is available they can release it to you. But if they say that the money is not available, you cannot have it, to that extent they can withhold funds.  

McCANTS:	Has money been available to you on a timely basis?

ADU-GYAMFI:	What?

McCANTS:	Has money and funding been available to you on a timely basis?

ADU-GYAMFI:	Normally, we made a proposal, like a salary to the staff, at the end of the year you prepare it and you send it to the appropriate headquarters for approval. But apart from that nothing is released to us. We don't control the funds. We don't control our funds here. Whatever is paid to us is sent there for approval before they pay it into our account, but we don't control any funds whatsoever here.  

McCANTS:	Have members of the Commission encountered any challenges that they've had to overcome to establish their independence?

ADU-GYAMFI:	Challenges about our independence?

McCANTS:	Yes.

ADU-GYAMFI:	Before, sometimes-I think that before I became a member of the Commission, when the Commission started, in spite of the clear wording of the Commission here, the government at that time wanted to appoint the chief executives of state-owned media. This was resisted by the Commission. The idea was that it had to go to court. So the court decided that the language of the Constitution and also the law was very clear and therefore the government had no hand in the appointment of chief executives. The government at that time had to abide by the decision of the court. This was the first time that such a challenge was made. But it was resolved by the court from that declaration.

McCANTS:	If you were providing advice to somebody in another country about how to build an independent media commission, what challenges would you tell them to be alert to?

ADU-GYAMFI:	Well, I think that as far as the institutional framework is concerned about media independence and control, I think that first and foremost apart from the main structures, I think if the personnel within the media are not properly trained, not adequately resourced and paid, the tendency will be to seek some money in order to eke out your own livelihood. So I think the basic problem of independence of the media, that is media practitioners, from my point of view is how adequately they are resourced, the way they are paid, their training, the way they are catered for because somebody can just take money and insert-may take money and insert in the publication his agenda because they have been paid for it. 

	But if, in spite of this resolve, to be professional, if he cannot get money to buy newsprint and somebody will just provide it, it would be a means of controlling them from the back door. So I think that adequate funding, apart from the professionalism that a person might display, adequate funding for media personnel and also the institutions is paramount, should be considered as paramount.    

McCANTS:	Can you tell me about a particular success that the National Media Commission has achieved, particularly during an election. 

ADU-GYAMFI:	Well, I think if you want to point out what we have achieved since it was established about fifteen years ago, I'll only say that just this morning we were dealing with a petition for settlement from the Ghana Police Service, from the military, from the intelligence, military intelligence, from the Ghanaian forces, from the Bureau of National Education, from the police, from-in other words people have confidence in the National Media Commission. They feel that if there is an infraction of journalistic standards, when they take it to the National Media Commission it will be resolved and adequately settled here with our settlement committee. We don't award any damages or something. The only thing is that if we hadn't received the complaints and the petition, the reply, they need to go into the matter, we go into the matter. Thereafter we will give our decision. We ask you to retract, as the Constitution says, and apologize to the person.

	I think that over the years this thing has been carried out and the extent to which people come here for settlement of their complaint is clear indication that people have confidence in the institution.   

McCANTS:	How would you characterize the media here currently? Is it mostly independent, privately owned? How much is privately owned versus government owned? Has ownership structure changed over time? 

ADU-GYAMFI:	I think that before the airways were liberized as it were, under the 1992 Constitution, we only had one TV station which was government owned but now we have some TV stations which are privately owned. So far as the airways are concerned, the electronic media, the government has only one, GBC (Ghana Broadcasting System), and Ghana News Agency. The print media we have only two. If you look at the tabloids for the day there are so many papers so that so far it is a mixture but the basic control of the media now is greater part of the chunk is in private hands. Therefore the government has basically no control over the media at the moment. 

	I think this has happened because of the constitutional provision which as it were liberated gave the Media Commission, gave the media the freedom to operate. Also we can also say that the media in Ghana now, for the past two or three years since this government came in, four or five years now, became free when the government decided to repeal the criminal libel, the provisions, criminalizing media infractions. This has given way to independence. People are free to write about anything. Probably if you opportunity to read some of our papers people write anything about anything and that is fine because you will not be taken to court, you will not be criminalized for writing. This is where the Media Commission comes in. Where there is any infraction because you have it settled within the confines of the law in this Commission. But I can assure you that the repeal of the criminal libel law has actually given media operators the opportunity to be independent, to be really free in Ghana at the moment. 

McCANTS:	Can you tell me about how the Electoral Commission or others that conduct the election use the media? For example, at what stage during the election cycle and for what purposes dos the Electoral Commission involve the media?

ADU-GYAMFI:	I think when you had the opportunity to meet our Executive Secretary, he might have given you details of the fact that we believe that especially in an election year, in all the elections that have taken place in Ghana from '96, 2000, 2004, the National Media Commission got to monitor, we were given the opportunity to monitor the elections. In order to ensure free and fair elections we have been organizing seminars for the media personnel. Also we had been doing some form of education, telling people the type of language they should use during this election year, the type of write up. Bear in mind the experience we have in other parts of Africa. How the radio, TV and writing should be used in order to ensure free and fair elections.

	So to that extent the Media Commission has taken it in line with our mandate to organize seminars, workshops, for media personnel. I was about not quite two weeks ago where in Kumasi to meet the media people there, to talk to them about-find out if there challenges and draw their attention to the question of the elections and the role they are supposed to play.

	So we do this in conjunction with the support, with other civil society groups and also with the Ghana Journalists Association which is a component part. There are two representatives here. We cannot lecture or school the media why you don't bring on board an association like Ghana Journalist Association too.   

McCANTS:	What are some of the challenges that the media have been encountering in this election period?

ADU-GYAMFI:	I think that the basic challenge facing the media practice in Ghana now is how to get people, the training. How to get experienced people who are trained, not just somebody who just got up and said he is a journalist. If we can get responsible people, well-trained people, those who have gone to the profession because they have the flair to be in the profession. I think that some of the pitfalls that we have at the moment will not come. Like for instance we have the situation where people are appointed, people are given positions, let's say with the radio and television. The person has no training whatsoever and they cannot control people. They say all sorts of things on the airwaves. Before you are aware, somebody has been destroyed and you cannot recall whatever you say. So we need a little bit of responsible journalism. 

	I think that the issue is basically training and on the part of the National Media Commission. We have one major handle here which we are trying to address because we have made our position known to parliament. In Ghana here the National Communications Authority distributes frequencies to radio houses and frequencies which we consider to be the primary function of the National Media Commission. We don't have control and therefore there is no basic guideline for people who get licenses. I think this is one of the areas where because there are no controls people are able to do whatever they are doing. We are fighting very hard that this is part of our mandate and therefore parliament should give it to us or we may have to test that in court. If it is decided that the current NCA bill which is pending before parliament, if that function is not assigned to the National Media Commission we shall test the legality of the law in court. 

	But I believe that if that function is properly assigned and is controlled there will be responsible-a greater measure of responsible media practiced in this country. 

McCANTS:	What sources of people, of information, do you think that most people rely on in getting their education and information about the election? Is it mostly radio, newspapers, television or other types of sources?

ADU-GYAMFI:	All of them. But I think now in view of the number of radio stations, because not the greater part of the people, the percentage of people who can read, people rely mostly on the radio naturally because even in the hamlets you have the radio. The television, from radio I'll come to television, because now a greater a sizable amount of people in Ghana have access to television. Some of these programs are explained but so far as the needs of the people is concerned, it will not come in time. Not everybody, apart from the commercial towns, the capital towns. I think that radio and television of course people rely mostly on radio and television. 

McCANTS:	Do political campaigns use the media to disseminate propaganda and if they do use the media, if they use kind of hate speech or inflammatory language, how do you regulate those efforts?

ADU-GYAMFI:	We have monitoring team, we have two offices. Our other office which we use for monitoring. The only thing that we, the results don't come early enough but we use the monitoring to tell people how far they have been fair. Like what we have in Komasi. We brought to the attention the issues they've discussed for the whole month, the content, how much the percentage they used for developmental program, for politicians, etc. So that our monitoring team-and this is where we have to strengthen it, because of lack of funds. But we have a monitoring team which, at the executive secretary and his instrumentality is actually doing much. Very soon, before the election, will publish our findings to draw people's attention to how the press itself, the media have been faring. So that our monitoring team is one of our organs that we are using to regulate, as it were, media projects in this country. 

McCANTS:	And are you authorized to issue infractions or any kind of punishment for those who use inappropriate language or speech?

ADU-GYAMFI:	The only thing is that currently under our law, because of where we came from, the circumstances under which we fought for press freedom in this country, from the military, from civilian government, for we to have this constitutional institutionalization of press freedom under the Constitution, the National Media Commission under the law is not mandated to mete out any punishment or anything. Our duty principally is to draw people's attention, educate them, draw their attention to how they can function to be responsible, but that is as far as we can go. 

	I think that for our purposes that has worked in the sense that any attempt to mete out any punishment will be interpreted as trying to control the press. So it has worked for some time now. We believe that it is not yet time for us to ensure that if you do this we are going to close this thing up or not. I think that it is good that we will try it for some time but as of now the National Media Commission has no power to sanction anybody for that matter. When we tell you and you don't agree, you don't apologize, you don't retract, then the person may go to court where until recently they were getting heavy fines in court being awarded by people. That is the more reason why we shouldn't act. Some of these things can be adjudicated and settled. But we don't have the power to award anything against anybody. 

McCANTS:	Does this mean that the structure as it works here in Ghana is very context specific and wouldn't be able to be transferred or shared with other countries?

ADU-GYAMFI:	I think that anybody who decides to have, I think that when I came here I met our former Chairman.  When we were having an induction course for new commissioners, he told that anybody who does not believe in press freedom has no business at the Media Commission. I think that I have taken that as part of my credo. I believe in what he said. So I believe that what we have tried here has worked for the past fifteen years. We don't sanction anybody, we don't give anybody the opportunity to close down your newspaper. All that you have to do is that at the end of the year you come and register with us so that if there is anything we can get in touch with you. I think that it does work and other places can also work the same. But I would not say that it is the best that we have we are learning from other sources the best practices from somewhere, from other places, well established democracies. 

	I think that we are trying to sensitize so that we can have a format which will be a blend between the well-established democracies, what they do there and what we do here. But I think that any country which has passed through our experience can try ours and we've had visits from Burkina now, from Tanzania, from other places, coming here to look at it, seeing that in our case there is no governmental control whatsoever with the National Media Commission. We've had visits from other west African countries come here, sitting down with us to talk about giving them what we have done so far. I think that so far I already appreciate, some of them have, I hope that they can get the same thing in their own country, so it can be done. I think we have a story to tell if we were to meet some of our colleagues somewhere. They really can try our experience.

McCANTS:	What have you found useful about some of the other countries that you've mentioned that you want to apply in Ghana? 

ADU-GYAMFI:	In other places, like we were saying, the issue of frequencies. How can government control? In that case where is the independence that we are talking about. In the Media Commission we are in, have been assigned that duty. If you go to South Africa we have been checking on other places. You see that there are some of these practices that we think that, especially mostly with the airwaves, we believe that it is time that the National Media Commission in line with our mandate is given the opportunity to be a watchdog on that as a means of protecting people, as a means of ensuring they're independent. Because now, it is done, everything is done by government. When there is any infraction they tell the Media Commission what are we doing. We did not give the person license so we cannot close that place. There is a way to have proper guidelines and if they are outside the guidelines then you can institute some measures. But where we don't have the complaint, they can misbehave as much as possible. You think that since it concerns the media you turn around to ask us what are you doing. So we believe that if we can get the control as we are trying to sit for, at least as far as the electronic media is concerned, we should be able to regulate it properly to ensure not only their freedom but their responsibility attached to their freedom in their work.

McCANTS:	Thank you very much.

ADU-GYAMFI:	It is a pleasure. 

Innovations for Successful Societies				Series: Elections		
Oral History Program						Interview number: E-5
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Use of this transcript is governed by ISS Terms of Use, available at www.princeton.edu/successfulsocieties


Use of this transcript is governed by ISS Terms of Use, available at www.princeton.edu/successfulsocieties