Dr Edward Mahama, Flagbearer of the People's National Convention, (PNC) on Tuesday said his party was prepared to give Ghanaians the needed change and hope when given the mandate in Election 2008. "PNC will bring total change in attitude in the leadership and hope to the hopeless in accordance with our message: 'Total Change - Real Hope!’" He said. Dr Mahama was speaking during a visit to the Head Office of the Ghana News Agency in Accra. He said the change Ghanaians yearned for in 2000 could truly be given by the PNC, which was striving to move the nation forward through good leadership by example. The PNC Flagbearer said Ghana with her many resources needed to catch up with the rest of the world and the Ghanaian media had an onerous role to play to achieve that. The visit afforded him and his team, which included Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, the National Chairman; Anbataagela Bernard Mornah, General Secretary; and Mr Haruna Apasera, PNC Member of Parliament for Sissala West, the opportunity to interact with members of the GNA Board and the Editorial Staff. Dr Mahama stressed the important role the media played in national development especially in setting the agenda saying, "it is the media that run countries and not politicians". He, however, expressed regret that the media in Ghana had tended to be too timid, with some practising self-censorship because they wanted to be in the good books of government and thus refusing to report on activities of other political parties. Nana Rex Owusu Ansah, Chairman of the GNA Board, said it was good that the Executives of the PNC had called on GNA for such interactions and acknowledging the importance of GNA. He thanked the Parliamentary Committee that looked into the finances of GNA and helped the Agency to recently acquire 10 vehicles for its operations. Nana Owusu Ansah said as GNA re-strategise, it needed money to acquire gadgets like digital cameras and other equipment to be able to compete with other agencies in other countries. He assured the team that personnel of GNA would remain as objective as ever and focused as “we prepare for the December elections”. Mr Boakye-Dankwa Boadi, Supervising Chief Editor of GNA, who briefed the team on the functions of the Agency, said the GNA would continue to refuse to write stories that had the tendency to cause confusion in the country in accordance with the mandate Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, First President of Ghana, gave it to ensure national cohesion and overall national development. SOURCE: GNA