President John Dramani Mahama has urged journalists to exercise media freedom responsibly, cautioning against what he describes as overzealous reporting and the deliberate pursuit of scandals. He maintained that while his administration recognises and remains committed to protecting the media’s constitutional responsibility to hold public officials accountable, journalism must be guided by fairness, civility and a sense of national responsibility.
Speaking at a journalism awards ceremony in Accra on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the President stressed the need to distinguish between legitimate investigative journalism and what he considers excessive media conduct. “As a journalist myself, I believe that it pushes the limits of media, zealously, when a journalist publicly challenges a minister to call into an issue to expose him over a so-called discrepancy that the journalist has discovered,” he said.
Mr Mahama added that although his government would uphold the media’s watchdog role, the deliberate pursuit of controversies where none exist could divert attention from pressing national development priorities. “This government that I lead will uphold the media’s mandate to hold government to account. But it distracts attention from the people’s business when we split heads in a deliberate search for scandals where none exists,” he stated.
The President’s remarks come amid public discussions surrounding JoyNews Research findings on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa and subsequent exchanges between journalists and Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over discrepancies in the reported cost of the exercise.
Meanwhile, Mr Mahama has welcomed Ghana’s improved performance in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Ghana climbed from 52nd position in 2025 to 39th out of 180 countries in the 2026 rankings, scoring 72.20 points, up from 67.13 the previous year. The latest ranking places the country fourth in Africa and marks its strongest performance in five years.
He further reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to working closely with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to safeguard journalists, strengthen media freedom and ensure that Ghana remains a safe environment for journalism.
The President said sustained collaboration with the GJA would be essential to protecting journalists and consolidating the progress the country has made in promoting press freedom.
