Features
GJA Awards Committee inaugurated …awards slated for November 12
• Members of the Awards Committee from left are: Yaa Oforiwaa Asare-Peasah, Vance Azu, Andrew Edwin Arthur, John Vigah, Roger Quartey and Loretta Vanderpuye
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has inaugurated a seven-member Awards Committee, with the mandate to evaluate all entries and stories to select qualified nominees for the various awards categories.
The Committee is chaired by former General Manager of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Yaa Oforiwaa Asare-Peasah with Mr John Vigah (Journalist with Ghanaian Times), Mr Vance Azu (former Journalist with The Mirror), Andrew Edwin (President of PRINPAG), Kwabena Antwi-Komadu (Academia), Harold Roger Quartey (Head of Production UTV) and Loretta Vanderpuye (Journalist with GBC) as members.
The occasion was also used to launch the 26th GJA Media Awards to reward deserving journalists. The event will take place at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel in Accra on November 12, 2022, under the theme, “Walking the path towards economic recovery: The role of the media.”
Entries for this year’s award will be submitted via the Association website.
For the first time, the awards will be a cocktail ceremony whilst the annual GJA Dinner night, will be more of a socialisation event where industry players and corporate partners get the time to meet and socialise.
Speaking at the launch and inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, President of the GJA, Mr Albert Dwumfuor, said to make the awards more competitive and relevant, the Association had reduced the number of awards to 45.
He said, one significant thing about this year’s awards was the fact, that the Journalist of the Year would be very competitive as the winner would be selected based on competitive entries.
“This is a departure from the practice whereby the Awards Committee selected a winner in consultation with the National Executive.
“We, therefore, urge all journalists who believe their works meet the criteria set out by the Awards Committee to file their entries. We assure them that the process will be fair and transparent,” Mr Dwumfuor said.
He urged journalists to focus on the Auditor General’s Report and ensure that the findings were fully implemented, to protect the public purse, and as well channel such funds into programmes such as the Free Senior High School (SHS), the School Feeding Programme, among others.
Former GJA President, Mr Ranford Tetteh, appealed to media practictioners to uphold the principles of the profession, devoid of any political affiliations to unearth stakeholders who embezzled and misappropriate public funds.
He said, it was the mandate of journalists to ensure that whatever resources given to individual (s) or institutions to embark on initiatives or programmes on behalf the state were properly accounted for.
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Emotional distortions can indeed have a profound impact on an individual’s mental health and well-being. These distortions can lead to a range of negative consequences, including anxiety, depression, and impaired relationships.
Emotional surgery is a therapeutic approach that aims to address and heal emotional wounds, traumas, and blockages. This approach recognises that emotional pain can have a profound impact on an individual’s quality of life and seeks to provide a comprehensive and compassionate approach to healing.
How emotional surgery can help
Emotional surgery can help individuals:
Identify and challenge negative thought patterns: By becoming aware of emotional distortions, individuals can learn to challenge and reframe negative thoughts.
Develop greater emotional resilience: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop the skills and strategies needed to manage their emotions and respond to challenging situations.
Improve relationships: By addressing emotional wounds and promoting emotional well-being, individuals can develop more positive and healthy relationships with others.
The benefits of emotional surgery
The benefits of emotional surgery can include:
Improved mental health outcomes: Emotional surgery can help individuals reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Enhanced relationships: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop more positive and healthy relationships with others.
Increased self-awareness: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their emotions.
A path towards healing
Emotional surgery offers a promising approach to addressing emotional distortions and promoting emotional well-being. By acknowledging the impact of emotional pain and seeking to provide a comprehensive and compassionate approach to healing, individuals can take the first step towards recovery and improved mental health.
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON
