Trust is our true test

Distinguished guests, partners, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to join you, my big family to on the occasion of this beautiful event to celebrate the launch of Accra TV. I am grateful to each and one of you, especially the staff and audience of the Class Media Group, whose love, hard work, dedication and belief has kept us in business through all the good and bad, from turbulent to calm waters and still counting.

Beyond the excitement of a new station, I want us gathered here to reflect on something far more important: trust.

Trust is the foundation of every successful relationship – from family through community to society. Trust is what allows citizens to believe in leaders, employees to believe in employers, businesses to believe in customers, and communities to believe in one another.

But in recent times, trust has come under extreme strain.

All over our country and across the world, we see citizens questioning the motives of leaders. Leaders also sometimes doubt the faith of citizens. We see employers worry about loyalty, while employees question fairness. Increasingly, people are asking: Who can I believe, what can I trust?

The challenge of our time is not a lack of information. We are surrounded by information. The challenge is determining what is credible, what is transparent, and what is true.

That is where the media comes in.

The media serves as the bridge between institutions and the people, between facts and public understanding. But that bridge can only stand if it is built on trust.

I have realized over time that trust cannot be demanded. Indeed, trust gotten through demands is unsustainable. Rather, it must be earned.

Trust is earned through accuracy, fairness, consistency and accountability. It is earned when we verify before we publish, when we inform rather than inflame, and when we have the courage to correct whenever we err. Afterall, isn’t it to err is human?

At Class Media Group, the umbrella body of Accra TV, our most valuable asset has not been our studios, cameras or transmitters. Our most valuable asset has been and will continue to be our credibility.

It will be the same for Accra TV, which is joining the group shortly. For me as a businessman who has seen almost all the cycles of life and entrepreneurship, the real litmus test of trust is not what we do when things are easy. It is what we do when transparency is difficult.

As we launch Accra TV this evening, let me reassure our stakeholders, particularly our audience and viewers that we are committing ourselves to being a trusted platform for facts, dialogue and accountability. We will be a platform that listens, informs and serves.

For we know and appreciate that when trust grows, societies prosper, businesses succeed, and democracy flourishes.

Thank you for believing in our vision. Together, let us build a culture of trust.

Thank you, and may Allah bless us all.

Long live Class Media Group, Long live our dear Ghana.