International Relations Expert Dr Ishmael Hlovor says Al Jazeera’s recent investigative documentary ‘Gold Mafia’ dents the country’s reputation in international circles.

According to him, the President is the representative of the country to the rest of the world, hence anytime affiliated to anything negative, it affects how Ghana is viewed by the rest of the world.

“In fact, looking at the documentary and all that has transpired since it was released, it is quite damaging to the image of the country. Remember that the President is the first citizen of this country.

“He represents Ghana where ever he goes and his conduct is very critical to how people see Ghana within the international arena. All that has happened so far is not in the good interest of this nation,” he said on Thursday, May 4, 2023.

Speaking on Top Story on JoyFM, Dr Hlovor emphasised that it was a bigger problem for Ghana since it was an investigative piece by a reputable media giant.

“Remember Al Jazeera is a global network and what they put out there has the tendency to influence how other publics view Ghana.

“So in terms of what we call public diplomacy, this is not so good for the image of Ghana,” he added.

His comments come on the back of Al Jazeera's refusal to apologise to President Akufo-Addo over its investigative piece.

Although the Expert believes the office of the President was hast to demand a retraction, he advised that the office responds to allegations raised in the said documentary.

“Perhaps we acted too quickly in taking that stance, the alternative will have to be to respond to the allegations contained in the documentary and find a channel to project it to the audience. So we contact the same Al Jazeera and give our response to them and find a way for them to air it,” he added.

He continued that, should Africa have had its own media giant, it would have been much easier to counter these allegations.

“That also speaks to our inability to have an African media giant that is capable of shifting the narrative in the way African countries want it. Without an institution like that it is so difficult sometimes to counter some of it. If it is propaganda it will be too difficult for you to counter it because somebody else controls the media you want to use to address this kind of damage,” he said.

Touching on another alternative, he encouraged the Presidency to use the state [Qatar] Al Jazeera operates, so they create a channel for Ghana to be given a fair hearing

“Since it is hosted by the state we could engage that state to see how we can get our image redeemed,” he added. 

The Jubilee House, in an April 25 letter, demanded an unqualified apology from Al Jazeera over its depiction of President Akufo-Addo in its damning documentary.

The letter signed by Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante stated that; “I am instructed by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to demand formally that Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera”) retract immediately and apologise for airing an inaccurate and unfair documentary that contained spurious and unsubstantiated allegations against the President and the Government of Ghana.”

But Al Jazeera stated that it has corrected and also clarified some of the contents in the letter from the Jubilee House.