opinion - Captain Smart has been exposed!

I have watched, with dismay, a viral video in which Captain Smart, a supposed journalist with Adom Fm, is seen and heard raining insults and invoking curses on the people who superintended over the creation and launch of the COVID-19 App. The content of the video has also been reproduced by online and broadcast media including ghanaweb.

It is the opinion of the uninformed journalist that state money has been expended on a 'useless' facility when people and institutions are in dire need of financial support for medical care especially in this COVID season.

To start with, the fact that Mr. Smart could not boldly address the Hon. Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who has been speaking to this matter, in his needless rants and innuendos is testimony of the fact that he is timid, a coward and not ready to take the bull by the horn.

For somebody who claims to be a journalist of good standing, I expected that Captain Smart will apply his senses more to the utterances he makes on air and be particularly mindful of the ethics of his profession.

The purpose of radio is to educate and inform, not to insult, curse, malign or malicious publish derogatory statements about public officials to deliberately incite people against them.

Ghana is not the only country in the world to have launched tracking app for COVID-19. It is reported that as many as 28 countries, including Norway, Singapore, have launched various apps in this regard with the likes of Czech, Switzerland, Austria, Indonesia and Israel soon to launch theirs.

It is also my understanding that over 10,000 people subscribed to Ghana's COVID-19 app in the first 72 hours after the launch. Presently, we have been informed that a total of about 39,000 people have subscribed to the app, some of which are reporting cases that the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service are keeping a close eye on.

The Honourable Minister of Communications, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, whose Ministry supervised the development and launch of the app has come out to explain that as far as her Ministry is concerned, not a single pesewa of state funds was spent on the app tracker.

She has gone further to explain that nobody has submitted any invoice or bill to her or any of her agencies to pay as cost of the creation or launch of the COVID-19 app or related matters.

Rather than fully display his ignorance and make mockery of himself, the Agenda pushing journalist should be interrogating the Hon. Minister's statement further for us to know the truth or otherwise.

As we speak now, nobody has adduced any iota of evidence to the effect that a singe cedi of state money was spent on the launch. Mr. Smart and his agenda pushing cohorts who manufactured the GHC40,000 and GHC100,000 being bandied about have not told us where the figures are originating from. Since when did we inculcate speculative journalism in our practice?

The Director-General of NITA has told us that the app was developed for free for the country by the Agency's partners.

The musicians who performed on stage have also told us they did not charge neither were they paid.

In fact, Shatta Wale while performing on stage and even after, mentioned that 'this is government work' and that he did not charge anybody.

The media houses who broadcasted the event have not come out to tell us whether or not somebody paid for the broadcast of the launch. And assuming without admitting that there was payment, did the payment come from MoC or NITA?

Therefore, it is intriguing and fascinating that somebody who is revered as a learned journalist will be so quick to insist wrongdoing and misappropriation of funds without  telling us were exactly the funds were applied.

As if to publicly prove to us the deficit in his reasoning, he further alleges that the MC for the occassion left in the middle of the program. This also is an untruth and it has been clearly established that Kwame Sefa Kayi, the man Captain Smart is afraid to mention, was the one who introduced the final set of performances before the close of the show.

Granted that some people received envelops for their transportation as is being claimed, has it been established that this came from state coffers?

If somebody or an institution, as has been established, decided to contribute to a national course from their own pockets by developing and app, can it not also be that they could have probably financed the launch of the product thereof? Has this occurred to Mr. Smart?

Somebody please tell him that curses and insults on public officials because of unsubstantiated claims is a primitive style of journalism and a complete betrayal of one's sense of reasoning. Mr. Smart should be intelligent enough to ask the needful and probing questions.

Journalists are supposed to be watchdogs and not attack dogs. Your business is to ask the questions and leave the authorities to answer.

This how you give your audience the opportunity to form their own opinions. Your listeners are not daft, they can very well appreciate the conversation and do not need your interpretation to deduce meanings.

But to attempt to impose on your listeners your own jaundiced, emotional opinion, informed by the value of the Soli cheque you have received, is nothing close to journalism. It is mecenary.

Let us remember the roles we play in shaping the discourse and remain professional at all times.

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/COVID-19-App-Launch-You-ll-suffer-extremely-Captain-Smart-curses-Ursula-lying-musicians-931660