A communications consultant, Dr Doris Yaa Dartey has condemned the concept of serial calling which has crept into the body politics of Ghana. She has taken a swipe at the serial radio callers, saying, they are of no relevance to the county’s democratic dispensation. “They are not relevant. They skew public opinion because it’s just a few of them who probably have been paid by political parties for them to push an agenda,” she said. Dr Yaa Dartey said it is unfortunate that these few people are being allowed to take over the country’s democratic space to control public opinions. “When you listen to radio, they move from radio station to radio station and they are the loudest. "They give the impression as though whatever they are saying is representative of public opinions but it is not; it’s just a small group of people who are making too much noise and disturbing our politics,” she said. Dr Yaa Dartey was reacting to a Citi News report that indicated on Thursday, October 15, that some serial callers of the ruling NDC have declared a week’s strike in protest against some acts of the Government. The serial callers, who spoke to Citi News on condition of anonymity, expressed grave frustration at what they described as the Mills administration’s knee-jerk reaction to the opposition's pressure. They expressed anger at what they described as the President’s slow pace of exacting justice against some alleged former government officials as well as the Government’s inconsistent and conflicting communications structure and what they also describe as the abject neglect of their welfare by the Government and Party executives. They complained bitterly that both the NDC party and the Government are allowing the main opposition NPP to win the media war with propaganda. According them, there is no coordination between the Director of Communications and Presidential Spokesperson Mahama Ayariga; neither is there coordination between the two gentlemen and the Information Ministry, a situation, they said is adversely effecting the party and government’s image. The serial callers also accused the Government of allowing the opposition NPP to take advantage of the inconsistencies of the Government’s information and Communication structure. But Dr Doris Yaa Dartey believes they don’t have the requisite expertise to question the communication flow of the government. She queried: “who gave them the authority to assess the information flow in the country; what do they know about information flow within the NDC administration and where do they get their power from?” She also noted these serial callers should be ignored to make way for other Ghanaians to express their opinions on radio. “There must be something good in there for them which might not be good for our democracy. They should be ignored and we should discredit serial calling. I am wishing them away - there are many Ghanaians who also want to express their opinions and they must also be given the opportunity,” she added. Meanwhile, some of the known serial callers who called in to the Citi Breakfast show on Friday, October 16, have reacted angrily to Dr. Yaa Dartey’s comments. They claim they are also Ghanaians and for that matter have the right to express their opinions on issues of national relevance. One of them actually suggested their roles are so important that radio stations should rather consider paying them for their consistent contributions to discussions on their medium. Source: Citifmonline.com