…As They Were Not Allowed To Participate
Hundreds of journalists have been left stranded at the premises of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) without access to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference this morning.
The journalists who were from various media houses including the State owned media, Ghanaian Times, ISD among others were prevented from entering the conference hall for reporting few minutes after 11am.
Some of the journalists who got to the BoG at 11:05am were not allowed to participate in the press conference which according to sources, begun 35 minutes after 11, hence were denied access to that information.
Information gathered is that the journalists who got to the venue few minutes after 11am, were asked to wait at the reception and would be allowed access immediately the Governor finishes his address.
In high expectation of at least having the opportunity to do one on one interviews and pick their stories even after the event, the journalists patiently waited until news got to them that the press conference was over.
However, as they were about to be ushered up for them to do their individual interviews by the security, the receptionists accosted them and instructed the security man not to allow them in.
This development created a tensed atmosphere at the BoG reception.
The journalists who felt embarrassed, abused and discriminated against left without their stories.
A journalist who spoke to this reporter said “we have been embarrassed. Even when you look at the time the press conference begun, the security and the receptionists have no reason to keep us waiting. They treated us as if we are animals, especially the receptionists who spoke to us rudely as if we were on their family property.”
Source: Kay Martins