Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has pledged support for a Private Member’s Bill to establish a professional certification and chartering framework for journalists in Ghana.
The proposed legislation is expected to set professional and ethical standards for journalists and establish a formal process for certifying practitioners.
Mr Bagbin made the remarks during a courtesy call on him by a delegation from the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), where he called for legislation to provide a formal basis for professional journalism standards.
“And so at the end of the day, we need to have a charter where ethics and other things matter. Before you are certified, you must go through that,” he said.
The Speaker cited the Institute of Directors and professional groups representing public relations practitioners, administrators and managers as examples of bodies seeking legislative backing for certification and chartering systems.
He said Parliament was prepared to assist professional groups in securing the necessary legislation to formalise their standards.
The proposed framework for journalists would seek to establish clear professional requirements and strengthen ethical standards within Ghana’s media industry.