A Facebook and a twitter post sighted by sixscribes.com, Manasseh Azure Awuni has said since he started working as a media person, from the time of former president J.A Kuffour, journalists are currently experiencing the worst moments ever under the presidency of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo.
“I have been doing journalism since Kufuor. And, in my view, Akufo-Addo’s era is the worst for journalists in Ghana” – he stated.
The overall Best Journalist of the Year 2011 expressed his view following the recent release of the position of the status of Ghana’s enviable press freedom. Ghana has been relegated drastically on the ladder of the league of countries with the freest media in the world.
According to the 2022 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Ghana has been pushed down from 30th position in the global ranking in 2021 to 60th in 2022, which is a humiliating 100% fall in position.
In the 2022 ranking, Ghana falls behind other African countries such as Seychelles (13), Namibia (18), South Africa (35), Cape Verde (36), Cote dÍvoire (37), Burkina Faso (41), Sierra Leone (46), The Gambia (51) and Niger (59).
The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index measures pluralism, media independence, the robustness of legislative frameworks and the safety of journalists in 180 countries and five regions.
Manasseh Azure Awuni is an Upper East Bongo-born media personality. He is one of the foremost investigative reporters and a freelance journalist in Ghana. He has once been described as a “treasure” to Ghana by Rev. Dr. Mensah Otabil.