In reaction to the the NMC's accusation that the police and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) are harassing and intimidating key personnel of the media, Mr Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, Deputy Minister of Information, said no citizen was above the law in terms of being investigated. He said just as the NMC had the constitutional mandate to ensure the freedom of the press and also insulate state-owned media from government control, "so is the SFO, also a constitutional creation mandated to investigate corruption to ensure that corrupt officials are punished." Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said the SFO was investigating several people "and I do not want to believe that the NMC believes that people should be immune to probe." He said the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), another constitutional mandated body, was investigating members of the ruling government such as the former Sports Minister, Alhaji Mubarak Muntaka, and former Health Minister, Dr. Sipa Yankey. Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa said leading members of NPP were also being investigated by state institutions, some of whom were before court to determine their guilt or innocence of the charges levelled against them. "The NMC mandate is to ensure press freedom and also ensure that the frontiers of free and responsible press are expanded. They are not to protect media practitioners who are facing allegation of corruption," he said. He said no person, including the President or member of NMC can prevent investigative bodies from doing their work. Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa stressed the need to separate abuse of office, conflict of interest, malfeasance, misappropriation, theft and corruption from media freedom. It was important, he said, for the NMC to urge its appointees to the state-owned media to be conscious of the fact that “they are not above the law and that nobody, including the NMC can shield them when allegations of wrongdoing are levelled against them.” Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said the government was committed to enhancing the frontiers of press freedom and responsible press. "We take a lot of pride in the fact that during our tenure, Ghana has been adjudged as the best country in Africa for press freedom, an enviable position we intend to keep.” He said the government would do everything to strengthen the NMC because there was concern about the seemingly inability of NMC to call journalists to order, adding, "they will need to be assisted by well meaning Ghanaians to erase the perception that the NMC is becoming toothless bull dog and white elephant when it comes to protecting people's reputation." Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa said the free speech as enshrined in the constitution does not seek to protect divisive and genocidal speeches. He said if the NMC had issues with a particular law the police were using, "that is a matter we can discuss as a nation, but it will be most unfair to attack the police in this manner without condemning the miscreants who have caused the police to go and look for that law". He said the government has no intention of controlling the police and that it would be irresponsible for any government in this era of media pluralism to focus on only state media to get its agenda out. The Executive Director of SFO, Mr. Mortey Akpadzi, said he had not heard the NMC's statement, but added that only the Commission can explain what it meant by intimidation. Mr. Kwasi Ofori, Head of the Police Public Affairs Directorate declined to comment on the issue. Source: Ghanaian Times