Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) Ghana’s leading total beverage business and a subsidiary of Diageo PLC has reiterated its support to the Ghanaian media to continue to promote democracy in Ghana and beyond.

This backing comes at the time when the Ghanaian media fraternity joins the world to mark the 2017 World Press Freedom Day, a day celebrated to promote the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

This international day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a recommendation adopted at the 26th Session of UNESCO's General Conference in 1991. This, in turn, was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.

Rita Rockson, Communications and Employee Engagement Manager for GGBL said “the Ghanaian media has over the years contributed immensely to the development of Ghana through the promotion of democracy which is the backbone for socio-economic development. We at GGBL appreciate Ghanaian journalists for their work, informing and educating us and most especially being the voice of the people. The media also plays a critical role in providing the appropriate environment for industry players such as ours to succeed”.

She added that “Ghana can boast of being a leader when the world talks about democracy in Africa and we have achieved this as a nation due to the work journalists and existing media mechanisms. It is, therefore, right for us to applaud our journalists for their good work”.

Speaking on practices to help solve the challenges of the Ghanaian media Ms. Rockson mentioned the need for a collaborated effort to support journalists to continue to perform their duties effectively.

On behalf of GGBL, she congratulated Ghanaian journalists and encouraged them to be bold in delivering their duties professionally.