<\/p>\n
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has urged the government and relevant state agencies to ensure that the Internet remains open and secure during the election period.<\/p>\n
This, they stressed, is essential not only for promoting press freedom but also for fostering transparency and ensuring a free and fair electoral process.<\/p>\n
The appeal was made during a press conference organized in partnership with U.S.-based Access Now and the Africa Open Data and Internet Research Foundation in Ghana. The event focused on critical issues such as misinformation, disinformation, and the potential for internet shutdowns ahead of Ghana\u2019s 2024 elections.<\/p>\n
Kwaku Krobea Asante, a Senior Programme Officer at MFWA, emphasized the importance of maintaining internet access, stating that an open internet is crucial for addressing information disorders and providing citizens with accurate information.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are urging the leadership of the country, the president, the Ministries of Communications, The Interior, NCA and security services and all stakeholders who are in the process of ensuring that we keep the internet on throughout the electoral period; before, during, and after the election.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are making this call because of what we have seen in other countries, especially in Africa. Countries that have stellar press freedom and autocratic regimes than Ghana. In recent years, we have seen them shutting down the internet and so it has become necessary for us to protect what we have and form a consolidation of our democratic process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are calling on the government to assure citizens that it is going to keep the internet on, and the social media platforms are not going to be tempered. So, that we can all have access to information and the EC will be seen as transparent and fair\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nCollapse of mining economy in 1980s contributed to Africa\u2019s economic decline \u2013 Yao Graham<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n