The Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) has proposed a rotation system to address growing tensions over parliamentary committees’ demands to select specific media houses to cover their engagements with government ministries and state institutions.
The proposal aims to ensure fair access to parliamentary assignments, promote equal opportunities for journalists, and prevent the repeated selection of a few media organisations for committee activities.
The issue emerged on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya, during a benchmarking study tour involving executives of the Parliamentary Press Corps, the Director of Media Relations of Parliament and his officers.
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The second day of the visit focused on media accreditation, press gallery management, parliamentary communication strategies, social media use and ways to strengthen collaboration between Parliament and the media to promote transparency and effective communication.
The Ghana delegation also examined approaches to managing relations between parliamentary authorities and journalists, as well as ways to improve professional development in parliamentary journalism and media relations.
According to the PPC, some parliamentary committees, engaging government agencies and ministries frequently insist on working with particular media houses, creating concerns among other members of the Corps.
Dean of the PPC, Mr Simon Againab, explained that the Press Corps already operates a shared platform through which journalists can circulate stories gathered during parliamentary assignments, allowing members to access and use the information.
“One person could go and then feed the platform with whatever news he or she might have gathered with the team, and then we can use it on the platform,” he said.
He noted that the arrangement helps ensure that important parliamentary developments reach members even when every journalist cannot attend an assignment.
Mr Againab added that the Corps understands Parliament’s reliance on regional reporters for assignments outside Accra, particularly because of financial and logistical constraints.
However, he said the repeated selection of particular media houses for committee engagements within Accra had become a source of concern.
To resolve the challenge, the Dean proposed that all requests for media coverage be channelled through the Director of Media Relations and the Corps’ executives.
Under the proposed arrangement, the executives would coordinate participation and rotate journalists and media organisations to ensure that opportunities are distributed more fairly.
“That is why we always say they should just leave everything with the Director. The Director will inform us that this committee is going out. The Executives can say these people went yesterday, so another group should go today. We can regulate them, and then the stories they want they can surely get them with such rotation,” Mr Againab explained.
He illustrated the problem with committees responsible for different sectors repeatedly requesting the same media organisations for their engagements with ministers.
“If a committee for transport wants to visit the minister for transport, they say they want this particular media house. Then when the committee on energy is going to the minister for energy for engagement, they mention the same media house that went out; it becomes a problem,” he said.
Mr Againab acknowledged that the practice remains a major challenge but maintained that the Press Corps is working to introduce a rotation system to manage the situation.
“That is the main challenge we have, but it’s not their fault. We are working to ensure everything is under control,” he added.
The proposed rotation system is expected to provide a coordinated approach to parliamentary media assignments, reduce disputes over access and strengthen cooperation between Parliament and the Parliamentary Press Corps.