Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister for Government Communications, has boldly stated that under no circumstances will President John Dramani Mahama’s government curb free speech in Ghana.
The Minister rejected claims that the government is undermining freedom of expression.
Kwakye Ofosu argued that there must be a clear distinction between criminality and legitimate criticism.
He disclosed that last year some persons were released using hate speech to foment trouble in areas of conflict, which he said could deepen conflicts that were raging in certain parts of the country.
Speaking at the launch of the 30th GJA Media Awards, Kwakye Ofosu stated, “Sometime last year, we began to notice the activities of individuals who were using hate speech to foment trouble in areas of conflict. These are people who took to social media to run commentary that had the potential to deepen conflicts that were raging in certain parts of the country, so law enforcement used technology available to them to clamp down on such activities.
“Africa is littered with examples of how speech like that led to serious genocide and conflict. And it will be derelict on the part of law enforcement to sit and not do anything about people who abuse the space of social media to engage in these sorts of activities.
“Also, a clear distinction must be struck between free speech and criminal conduct. Under no circumstances will the government of President John Dramani Mahama curb free speech.”
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has said that, as a leader, he does not mind being insulted or vilified as he has crocodile skin.
According to John Mahama, he has a tough skin, so when people insult him, he does not mind.
President Mahama, however, stressed that he believes Ghana needs a broader conversation on how TikTok and other new media platforms should be regulated.
He disclosed that the government could simply instruct the police not to arrest people over anything they say, but questioned whether that would reflect the position Ghanaians wanted to adopt.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with the Ghanaian community in New York on Friday, September 25, President Mahama stated, “There is a new term that I call information integrity. The media has become democratised. Anybody with a mobile phone can disseminate information. There is a new medium called TikTok. And it’s not only Ghana where people are wondering what to do to regulate TikTok. Because in all countries all over the world, we are wondering what to do to make sure that we have information integrity even with TikTok”.
“Anybody who has a phone just puts it in front of him and just says whatever he likes. Once they put it out, it has an algorithm that shares it,” he said.
He added, “As a leader, I don’t mind being insulted. I have been insulted, I was vilified, and I was voted out of office, so for me, this skin is a crocodile skin. So if you insult me, I don’t mind. You insult me, I don’t mind, and indeed, I am doing what I can for my country and my continent. I am doing what I can for Ghana and Africa’.
“Definitely, a lot of these arrests, I don’t even know about them. I also hear about them in the media. Some of them have been tracked and arrested and all that. And sometimes, it worries me, because sometimes the reason for which the person has been arrested, really, they say, is because he insulted me,” he said.
Mahama said the challenge was determining where legitimate freedom of expression ended and conduct that required intervention, saying, “I can tell the IGP, we can go to Cabinet and say, let anybody insult anybody. Let’s leave it free for all. Don’t arrest anybody for anything they say. We can do that. But is that what we want?”
“So, let’s all decide what we want to do. So, that we either find a way of regulating it or we say, when it comes to free expression, anybody can say whatever he wants,” he said.
He further disclosed that the question of regulating new media should not be determined by government alone.
Mahama added, “What we should do is for the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) to bring all the stakeholders together and hold a workshop or a forum.
“Let’s all collectively take a decision on what we want to do with the new media. Should the police get involved, or shouldn’t they get involved? How do we regulate it? You come out and tell us,” he said.
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