Journalists should have boycotted Independence Day event- Casely-Hayford

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March 12, 2016 11:43 AM

Journalists at the Independence Day celebrations, to the horror of many, were giving a tipper truck in order to get a higher elevation from which to cover the ceremony.

Anti-corruption campaigner and member of Occupy Ghana, Sydney Casely-Hayford says journalists should have boycotted the 59th Independence Day celebration last Sunday, when they were provided a tipper truck as means to cover the celebrations.

However, a cross- section of the public have criticized government and government protocol for denigrating journalists by accommodating them in the bucket of tipper truck.

Sydney Casely-Hayford, in an interview on Citi FM’s Big Issues, described the action as “disgusting and disappointing, a sign that government does not respect journalists.”

He then turned his attention to the journalists who agreed to work from the bucket of the truck saying, “The journalists had a choice. They should have boycotted coverage of the event in protest of the inhumane treatment. But they were probably weak- spined to do so. A clear message must be sent to government to treat journalists better than they do.”

Meanwhile, government communicators say the truck was for journalists who did not acquire the necessary accreditation for the program, as such could not have space on the special podium reserved for accredited journalists.

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