The Ministry of Information has existed under
different names since independence in 1957. It has metamorphosed from
being called Ministry of Information and Culture, Ministry of
Information and Tourism, Public Relations Secretariat, Ministry of
Communications, Ministry of Media Relations, Ministry of Information
and National Orientation(MINO) and currently its new name; The Ministry
of Information.
VISION
The Vision of the Ministry is the attainment of a free, united,
informed and prosperous society with good governance through
development communication.
MISSION
The Ministry of Information exists to facilitate a two-way free flow
of timely and reliable information and feedback between the Government
and its various publics and to assist in the development, co-ordination
of policy; to monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and
activities by the Sectors Agencies.
OBJECTIVES
1. To strengthen institutional capacity for effective policy formulation and execution.
2. To ensure free flow of public information in pursuance of the open Government policy.
3.
To effectively and efficiently monitor and evaluate public responses to
Government policies, programmes and activities and provide timely
feedback to Government.
4. To project the image of the country in
collaboration with other agencies to attract foreign investment in
consonance with Government policy.
5. To co-ordinate activities of
the Presidency towards ensuring uniformity and focus in executing
policies, programmes and activities.
SECTOR AGENCIES
The Agencies of the Sector are;
- General Administration
- Information Services Department (ISD)
- Ghana News Agency (GNA)
- Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)
- National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI)
INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT (ISD)
This Department is the major operational agency of the Ministry. It
serves as Government's major public relations organisation both locally
and abroad.
The Department is mandated to:
Create awareness of Government policies, programmes and activities.
Promote Ghana 's international marketing agenda.
Provide Public Relations support to Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Ghana 's missions abroad.
Get feedback from the public to government for policy reinforcement or redirection.
Its modus operandi include, organising regular weekly interactions
with the media on Tuesdays and Thursdays on various issues and
Government programmes; produce various audio-visual documentaries for
public education and outreach programmes.
The Department has contributed tremendously to the dissemination of
information in the past through the use of visual, audio, print and
face-to-face interaction through drama, films and talk shows, mounted
on the ubiquitous cinema vans which criss-crossed the whole country and
is determined to do more for the country with the advent of ICTs.
When the portal www.ghana.gov.gh was established in 2002, the
Department assumed additional responsibility by discharging its
traditional functions electronically through the provision of
information and other public services through the Internet. The
facility has proven to be one effective communication tool to
disseminate Government's information to the public and to get feedback
to provide the way forward in our national development. The Portal
links MDAs with websites and other institutions.
The Information Services Department also collaborates with the
Ministry of Communications and other stakeholders in the management of
the Community Information Centres. There are other host of roles that
the department play.
GHANA NEWS AGENCY (GNA)
The GNA plays a major role in contributing to the political, social
and economic development of the nation through data-gathering,
processing and dissemination through wire service. The Agency is
re-engineering the process of transforming itself into an autonomous
news agency.
GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION (GBC)
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation was founded to provide radio and
television broadcasting services for general reception in Ghana. The
legislation that basically set up GBC as a Corporation is the National
Liberation Council Decree 226 (NLCD 266) of 1968.
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation has the mandate to inform, educate
and entertain as well as engage in commercial broadcasting through the
sale of paid adverts and exploitation of other sources of revenue
related to the broadcast business.
GBC was founded in the era when it was the responsibility of
Governments to set up and run media establishments as an essential tool
for national development. Throughout the years, GBC as a public service
broadcaster has performed creditably. It has made significant
contributions not only to the spread of knowledge but also an
instrument of education and a source of entertainment.
Broadcasting to a predominantly a non-literate society, GBC has over
the years contributed in a far greater way to the enlightenment and
mobilisation of the Ghanaian populace for national development.
NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION INSTITUTE (NAFTI)
NAFTI is a tertiary institution for the training
of film and television production techniques in the country. The
institute organises various seminars and workshops in film and
television production for practitioners as well as staff development
courses. It exists to augment the number of media practitioners for an
improved quality of work.
THE NATIONAL ORIENTATION CONCEPT
Speech Delivered By Hon. Oboshie Sai Cofie, At The Launch Of
National Orientation Sensitisation Programme in August, 2007 reads in
part:
In fact, giving the new name to the Ministry was both an affirmation of a fact and an expression of a vision for the future.
H. E. The President was signalling to the country at large that he
believed society cannot move forward unless there is a consensus on the
things that matter most to all. These are how we conduct our lives and
how we relate to one another and to the authority of the state. The
underlying assumption is that we all want to lead relevant, productive,
happy and peaceful lives.
The Ministry of Information and National Orientation was charged
with translating this vision into a program with a focus representing
the identity, views and beliefs of for all Ghanaians.
The Ministry accepted the challenge and set about working on the
principles that must form the basis of our national orientation through
consultative workshops, focus groups and specialised committees. A plan
for evaluating and reassessing the precepts and tenets that we have
held dear as a people and which have helped to mould our consciousness
for many generations was to be evolved in any strategy.
The good news is that we already have in all our cultures,
unchanging and unchangeable ethical and moral precepts that all of our
people believe in. An example is the almost universal statement
Animgwase mfata which is attached to the group name eg. Animgwase mfata
Okyeniba These common aspirations which are normally cemented into
human consciousness as eternal values, appear endangered as deviations
from them appear to be increasingly tolerated.
Our societies also have common and practical ways of working to
maximise our advantages and the resources with which we are blessed.
These include the way we communicate, educate the young, pass on social
and cultural norms, share our beliefs and generally ensure that we
survive in the environment in which God has put us.
Our history, traditions, cultures and institutions have helped to
mould us into today's Ghana. As a nation, we also benefited from the
large store of previous efforts by governments, individuals, and civil
society alike to order some of these precepts into literature, songs
codes, proverbs and sayings.
Above all, the Constitution of this country, especially the
Directive Principles, provides guidance about the limits of state power
as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the
Government. As citizens, we should know the content of our Constitution.
National Orientation simply seeks to rekindle what I believe each of
us already knows and many of us already believe and abide by. The
challenge of the National Orientation is ensuring that in the
implementation the voices of all are heard. We do not view National
Orientation as an ethical prescription to be memorised and recited at
the click of a finger.
National Orientation, as the name suggests, is more of a process
transforming and formulating a culture that challenges each Ghanaian to
do his or her best for himself and for his country.
National Orientation does not target one group, ethnic group,
political party or religious assembly. Nor is it meant only for our
time; We anticipate a gradual reassessment and repositioning of Ghana
in the thinking and behaviour of the Ghanaian; hopefully in the long
run we will have a national pride of real and lasting value to bequeath
to this country.
At the core of national Orientation is a behaviour change. This is
not only a superficial change of attitude but a wholesome adoption of a
different set of values and behaviours in order to re-order the
directions of our lives. We all understand this; the challenge is to
create conditions that allow us to strive towards that end together.
This is why we are launching this initiative today.
The normal thing is to tell you what this programme is, but today I
will like to tell you a few things that this programme is not. It is
not a prescription for how we, as individuals must lead our lives; it
is not a top-down command coming from the President or the government
to the rest of us; it is not a Big Brother kind of situation where a
hidden hand will be guiding us or hidden eyes will be following us to
ensure our conformity to some set prescription. The National
Orientation programme is not a static plan written in stone; it is a
dynamic and evolving programme that will be strengthened by the inputs
that we expect to receive from every section of our nation. It calls
for a collective effort of all citizens to see this vision and own it,
and be a part of it.
What we want to do with National Orientation is distil the essences
of several sources of inspiration and wisdom and collate them in a form
that is palatable, clear, and easy to digest. The Ministry has executed
its tasks and have come up with ideas that, it hopes, can only enrich
our national life. No-one is suggesting that the tenets replace all
other moral, cultural, traditional or even political ethos that already
exist and are subscribed to by citizens, but the hope is that these
ideas and ideals will add to what individuals groups or whole societies
already have Perhaps we may examine ourselves critically to help
provide fibre that would bind us together as one people with one future.
The programme we are launching today is based on what the Ministry
calls the PILLARS OF NATIONAL ORIENTATION.� The programme expects that
these ideas would be accepted into our work ethics, our daily lives,
our play and prayers.
The Pillars of National Orientation are building blocks aimed at
helping achieve a defined national mission. They embody those defining
principles that would provide a direction for Ghanaians in a bid to
build a better Ghana. The Pillars should serve as a point of reference
for charting new paths for development. They are not externally
imposed, as they come basically from our own cultural values and from
earlier attempts at National Orientation.
The PILLARS are:
Proud to be Ghanaian
Patriotism and a Spirit of "Ghana First"
Positive and A "Can-Do-It"� Attitude
Productivity and Accountability
Dedication and Discipline
I do not believe there can be any controversy about any of these and
we can all strive to live by them. For the success of the roll-out of
the programme, the more important thing is how we all identify with and
absorb the programmes that we are inaugurating today.
Mr Chairman, there are other areas in which we should show our
special pride and togetherness as Ghanaians. We can learn to focus on
and respect the symbols that unite us as a nation such as the National
Flag, the National Anthem, the Coat of Arms, the National Pledge and
the National Currency and attach importance to them.
In our everyday life we should be courteous to one another, we
should respect time and its value. We should learn to take pride in
local dress and cuisine. The kind of Ghanaian we envisage is one who
holds dear to his or her positive cultural and traditional values. We
should also be identified by the food that we consume.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am of the firm belief that no one will make
Ghana a better place for us but us, once this concept is ingrained in
our belief system, the National Orientation process of believing in,
and dying a little for Ghana, will be self-fulfilling.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me also touch on a very important aspect
of our lives that could play a significant role in the re-orientation
programme. This is in relation to the promotion and preservation of our
rich cultural heritage.
It is an issue of concern to many Ghanaians. This is because the
youth, particularly, are becoming alienated from their traditions and
culture and are rather increasingly embracing foreign cultures as
portrayed in their mode of dressing, exposure to foreign films and
their attitude to elders and authority in general.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, we as parents, teachers and all
who share responsibility for the upbringing of our youth must endeavour
to insulate them from negative habits and culture and inculcate in them
the proper sense of discipline and decorum.
Mr Chairman, let me also state that the media, print, radio and
television, need to take a closer look at the language and content of
their publications and programmes and endeavour to give greater
attention to the promotion of Ghanaian ethical and cultural values.
Mr Chairman, if we are to attain the goals we have set for ourselves
then we should set out to change our attitude to work. Our nation is
endowed with rich natural resources and with the requisite hard work
and determination we can transform it into a truly productive nation
able to meet its domestic needs and export the surplus to earn
sufficient foreign exchange to bolster developmental programmes.
Let us try somehow to reverse the strange notion that everything foreign is necessarily better than what is produced locally.
Japan came out of the ashes of war and yet has transformed itself
into an economic giant. The achievements of other Asian tigers such as
Malaysia and Singapore should inspire us and instil in us the culture
of hard work and efficiency. We need to portray ourselves as an
attractive investment destination and sell Ghana both to Ghanaians and
to foreign investors.
Mr Chairman, if we are to succeed in doing this, then we should be
law abiding and disciplined. We should also learn to co-operate with
the relevant law enforcement agencies, such as the police, to weed out
those with criminal tendencies and help bring down the crime rate.
Respect for the law and helping the police does not mean taking their
functions into our own hands. Mr Chairman, as we embrace our National
Orientation, let us all agree that Instant justice is no justice and
the rising tendency must be stamped out.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ministry of Information and National
Orientation has identified some of the tools which could assist us in
getting our messages across. These include symposia, seminars,
regulations and legislation, animation, puppetry, street theatres,
dramas and documentaries. Others are the involvement of religious
groups, NGOs, traditional authorities and the review of the curriculum
and syllabi in our schools and colleges to include lessons on National
Orientation.
Let us be imbued with the kind of national euphoria that gripped the
nation when the national team, the Black Stars, so successfully
represented us at the World Cup in Germany in 2006.
It is an ample demonstration of what we can do when we stand united.
We should therefore not allow divisive tendencies such as ethnicity,
chieftaincy disputes and partisan politics prevent us from realising
the importance of putting our country first. I believe with concerted
effort and a new mindset, we would be able to make great strides as a
nation.
Mr Chairman, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been my
pride and my pleasure to introduce this programme to you. I call on all
Ghanaians to make a concerted effort to join in the effort of the
Ministry of Information and National Orientation to crystallize these
pillars into concrete ideas that will sharpen the destiny of the nation.
Be proud to be a Ghanaian
Defend the Good name of Ghana both home and abroad.
Resolve to eat and wear Ghana.
Thank you
