By Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Accra, May 17, GNA -The Government has urged agencies under the Office of Government Machinery (OGM) to activate their websites, social media handles and information management systems to provide timely and accurate information to the public.
Madam Shamima Muslim, the Deputy Government Spokesperson, made the call during the launch of 2024 Public Opinion Survey Report in Accra on public perceptions about the activities and services of entities operating under the Office of the President.
Representing Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister of Government Communications, she entreated staff of the entities to avoid partisanship and work collectively to achieve the objectives of their establishments.
“The OGM entities must provide timely information and be responsive to the demands and requests for information from the public,” she said.
“We must be proactive in communicating our mandates and services to the people. It is not only the politician who come periodically and exit, but everybody must be interested in the efficiency and effectiveness of the Office of Government Machinery.”
“It is you, the civil servants or public servants, who are in for the long haul. And so, let the positive outcomes reflect on you and have tangible results.”
She expressed concern over the outcomes of the 2024 Public Opinion research, which revealed that social media platforms were the primary source of information for the citizens.
Madam Muslim queried the authenticity of those information if public sentiments were largely shaped by them, since there were so many misinformation and fake news circulating on social media.
Hence, she tasked the OGM agencies to be proactive in putting out accurate information through their social media handles and websites to help shape the right public perceptions.
The President Mahama-led Government was truly committed to resetting the country, she said, and that: “Whatever your political affiliation or interest is, Ghana is the only country we have. At least, let us make the system work for our collective benefit.”
“Let us work hard so that the resetting agenda will be felt on the heart of everybody.”
The Deputy Government Spokesperson, therefore, underscored the need for the OGM agencies to be proactive in disseminating the right information in the public domain to correct any false information being churned out by individuals with certain interests and agenda.
She referenced some false publications recently to the effect that GHc78 million was allocated to Government Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, and herself in the 2025 Budget for propaganda work.
“After the 2025 Budget presentation, I woke up the next morning to the screaming headlines; ‘78 million Ghana Cedis allocated to Felix and Shamima for government propaganda,” she noted.
Madam Muslim said in such scenarios the OGM agencies like the Information Services Department (ISD) and Ghana News Agency (GNA) must be proactive to correct such misinformation.
As a new government, the Office of the President would use the outcomes of the 2024 Survey as a baseline to increase public knowledge and understanding of its work and, thus, urged the OGM entities to endeavour to follow suit in the interest of the public and overall development of Ghana.
Some institutions that constitute the Office of Government Machinery are the State Protocol, Council of State, State Interests and Governmance Authority (SIGA), Ghana News Agency, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, and Information Services Department.
Others are the National Population Commission, Ghana Aids Commission, and Millennium Development Authority, Zongo Development Fund, Micro and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), and National Centre for Early Warning Secretariat.
The OGM Agencies are the operation arm of the Presidency that support the Executive branch of government to implement policy interventions to improve service delivery and enhance living standards.
The research saw more than 1,000 responses from across the 16 regions using focus group discussions and interviews as well as online platforms for respondents to answer the questionnaires.
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