The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to invoke his executive powers to enact a law that will offer stronger protection to journalists in the line of duty.Ghana travel guide The call was made by GJA President, Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor, when he led a delegation of the Association’s executives to pay a courtesy call on the President at the Jubilee House. Mr Dwumfuor lamented the growing spate of attacks on journalists, warning that the trend has worsened Ghana’s global press freedom standing.Ghana travel guide “Your excellency, attacks have worsened Ghana’s ranking on the World Press Freedom. We used to be No.1 and dropped to 3, a position we maintained for years till we started declining. This year we are 52 out of 180 countries, dropping from 50th position last year. Ghana is now occupying the 8th position in Africa. We used to be among the top three. A very sad and unfortunate development. And we call on you, as someone who understands the plight of journalists better, and as part of the fraternity to find a cure or antidote to end this attacks on journalists in order to improve on our ranking,” he said. Ghana travel guide He stressed that existing legal provisions were inadequate, as assaults on journalists are often treated as misdemeanours, which fail to deter perpetrators. “Your Excellency with assaults on journalists respectfully, we entreat you to invoke your executive powers to enact a law to empower the security agencies to protect journalists, since most of these attacks are premeditated and must be treated as aggravated offence. If we continue to treat all assaults or attacks on journalists as misdemeanor, it will not deter or serve as deterrent to others. Is the reason we call on your good self to invoke your office, executive powers, I think Executive Instrument (E.I) will help in defining attacks on journalists rather than treating it as misdemeanor,” he added. The GJA President noted that such a legal framework would not only safeguard media practitioners but also help restore Ghana’s reputation as a leader in press freedom on the continent.