Help salvage image of GJA
Yesterday, the mortal remains of our late colleague, Mr Samuel Nuamah, the presidential correspondent of the Ghanaian Times who died in a motor accident three weeks ago, was laid to rest at the Osu Cemetery in Accra.
Advertisement
The burial service held at the forecourt of the State House saw a huge crowd of mourners and sympathizers from all walks of life, including the President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama.
That young journalist with a promising future died prematurely and the circumstances under which that accident occurred continues to be shrouded in secrecy.
Since that misfortune, many media practitioners and a cross-section of the general public have expressed outrage at some pronouncements by the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr. Affail Monney, who is also the Director of Radio at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
His comment on the accident was unfortunate. Mr. Money, himself realized his gaffe, I am sure, and therefore did not hesitate to apologize profusely to the victims of the accident, the entire membership of the GJA and the general public at large.
Mr. Monney’s apology has been accepted in good faith but some questions linger on the minds of many of his followers who are members, as well as those who hold executive positions at the lower level of the GJA.
Our concerns are born out of the fact that some messy statements and incidents that sought to diminish the image of the association and its members had taken place long before the presidential convoy crash and some of us had been wondering the direction the GJA was drifting to.
Many members have expressed dissatisfaction over the President’s actions and utterances, and particularly some members in my chapter, Graphic Communications Group Limited, have even threatened to withdraw from the association. I never agreed with their reasons and always advised them to stay, fight from within and help to put things right.
Having reflected over the developments in the GJA, I strongly feel that something needs to be done immediately to salvage its image and regain the respect and honor the association had in the past.
I became a member of the GJA at the time Mr. Edward Ameyibor, formerly of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) was the President. When his tenure was drawing to a close, majority of the members agreed that the presidency of the association should be handed to a member from the independent media.
This was because the regime at the time, even though constitutional, was such that people looked over their shoulders before saying certain things or taking certain actions.
It was based on this feeling that Ambassador Kabral Blay Amihere was overwhelmingly elected the GJA President in 1994, with Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie as his vice.
Later, when Kabral’s tenure ended, it was very easy for Gifty to step in his shoes because the two did well for the association, which had by then started regaining some recognition.
However it was not without a fight from her main challenger from the GNA, the late Mr. Harry Mouzalas. Gifty had to resign from GBC to establish her own magazine, in order to gain that independent media practitioner status.
Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie did so well for the association. She lobbied for the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law, secured a building from the government to be used as a permanent International Press Centre and sponsored a number of the association’s activities, among others.
After Gifty, Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari came in as a compromised president after a dispute over the election result when Mr Yaw Owusu-Addo, a former Director of Radio at GBC and then Vice-President during Gifty’s administration, challenged the eligibility of Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, who had rejoined Graphic after a stint with the National Media Commission.
After Ms Yeboah-Afari’s tenure, Mr Ransford Tetteh of Graphic entered the slot and later, Mr Monney, who also served as Mr Tetteh’s vice.
I decided to recount this brief history to update readers on where the GJA came from and where it is today for them to make their own judgment.
It is my strong conviction that the GJA has to redeem its image and reclaim its rightful place in the governance system.
I will therefore propose the setting up of a Council of Elders comprising all past presidents, vice-presidents and general secretaries of the association. Some veteran journalists could also be co-opted to be part of this group.
Advertisement
Their duty will be to advice and direct the leadership of the association. Also, the mandate of this group can be fine-tuned.
I humbly appeal to the rank and file of the GJA to support this proposal.