Features
Is the Ghana Journalists Association in shambles?
Tension is building up within the rank and file of journalists in this country which, if not handled properly, can cause disaffection among members of this noble profession and create confusion in the operation of journalism in Ghana.
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), which is the umbrella body of journalists in this country is embroiled in confusion due to the reluctance ofthe current executives led by Mr. Roland Affail Monney, whose mandate expired more than a year ago to step down to pave the way for fresh election of a new executives to steer the affairs of the association. As a result of this intransigent posture, tension is building up gradually,which if not managed properly, will make the association to lose the respect accorded to it by Ghanaians and society in general.
PROTRACTED DISPUTE WITHIN THE GJA AND COURT ACTION
The association has for the past one year, been confronted with a protracted dispute over a lawful and competent leadership to steer its affairs and as a result, a deep-seated division among members has been created with corresponding fury and anxiety.
The mandate of the old executives expired during the latter part of 2020 and due to the Corona Virus pandemic which hit the entire world including Ghana, it affected the association’s programme to organise an election to elect new national and regional executives to take over from the old executives. In May 2021, the GJA announcement of the opening of nominations for various positions in the association, attracted a suit from one of its members called Ms Caroline Boateng. She had sought a High Court injunction challenging the processes of holding the elections, saying the mandate of Affail Monney’s administration expired in November 2020 and, therefore, their continued stay in office was illegitimate.
SETTING UP ELECTION COMMITTEE WAS ILLEGITIMATE
The plaintiff argued that, because the administration’s stay in office was illegitimate, the move by the highest organ, the GJA National Council, to set up the Election Committee to carry out the election for a new executive was illegitimate. According to Ms. Boateng, Affail Monney who was the first of the three defendants in the suit, ought to have set up an interim committee to oversee the affairs of the association after expiration of his tenure in 2020. The plaintiff further accused the defendants of neglecting their duties for supposed personal benefit of ensuring that they influenced the next election. But the GJA executives argued that they were doing exactly what the laws required by undertaking the processes to elect new executives and that the plaintiff’s suit was only interfering in their work.
The plaintiff had prayed the court for an action against the election process and also replacement of the council with an interim committee to oversee the election. Ms. Boateng wanted the court to bring together Mrs. Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, Madam Ajoa Yeboa Afari, Mr. Ransford Tetteh and Ambassador Kabral Blay Amihere to constitute the interim committee to oversee the next elections.
CONTESTANTS FOR THE PRESIDENT OF GJA
Three personalities, namely Mr. David Agbenu, Editor of the Ghanaian Times, Mr. Gayheart Edem Mensah, a media consultant and Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor, of the Atinka Media Village, have filed their nominations to contest the GJA presidential slot. Other members have also filed their nominations for various positions within the association.
OUT OF COURT SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTE
Under the auspices of the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru 11, the case was settled out of court with the agreement that both parties would ensure that the elections were held on or before October 3, 2021. It is instructive to know that more than a year on, the elections had not been held, thus creating a lot of anxiety and tension among members and the contestants in general. The contestants are complaining that the voter’s register is overblown with non- registered members of the association and unless a systematic audit is carried out to clean the register, the election cannot be held. This unfortunate situation has allowed the Affail Monney-led executive to continue to hold itself in office, thus creating problems for members.
RECENT SEMINAR TO DISCUSS THE WAY FORWARD
At a seminar attended by veteran journalists in Accra recently to discuss the way forward, it was agreed in a communique that, an Interim Management Committee (IMC), comprising senior members of the association be constituted to assist the constitutionally mandated committees of the GJA to develop a road map that would lead the association out of the current crisis and ensure the conduct of a credible election for new national and regional executives. It was further agreed that the IMC, in conjunction with the Elections Committee and the Elections Dispute Adjudicating committee of the GJA, should develop modalities for the cleaning up of the voter’s register and rid it of all suspicious names before the elections were held.
The forum theme, “The GJA yesterday, today and tomorrow-Repositioning for the next Phase” agreed that pending the establishment of the AGM, the immediate past president of the association Affail Monney and his executives must desist from holding themselves out as president and executives of the association, particularly when their tenure had elapsed since November 2020.
SELFISH AND MEDIOCRE LEADERS OF GJA
It is important to note that the GJA in the past had been a strong, vibrant and potent organisation that stood for interest and welfare of journalists. That was as a result of competent and well- groomed and talented senior journalists who served as leaders of the association. Now, we have a category of leaders who have placed personal welfare above the interest of members and that has been the woes of the association presently. They continue to align themselves with the government of the day, thus selling their conscience for peanuts and, therefore, can be influenced easily to follow the path of the government in power. For instance, it was a bit surprising to hear that the embattled president has nominated himself to serve on the National Media Commission without the express knowledge of the entire members of the GJA. Besides, unilateral decisions are taken without the knowledge of members. These came to light at the recent seminar for senior retired members of the association in Accra.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GJA
This article will not be complete if I fail to give a brief background about the emergence of the association and those who sacrificed and laid down their lives towards its formation.We are told the GJA was established on August 1949, at a time when politics in the then British colony of the Gold Coast was at its peak and the minds of many media practitioners and ordinary citizens were filled with events of the nationalist struggle. A number of the nationalist leaders including Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Dr. J.B. Danquah, were journalists who used the power of the pen to propagate their ideas and vision of the independence for the then Gold Coast.
At the time of its formation, it was called Africa Press and was set up to provide indigenous media practitioners with an alternative to the colonial press. Those who were at the forefront of its formation were, Messrs Martin Therson-Coffie, Eric Adjorlolo, G.A. Hassen, Cecil Forde, Henry Ofori (Carl Mutt), Carl Reindolf and Regina Addae. The name of the association was later changed to Association of Ghanaian Journalists and Writers. For want of space, I would have gone deeper into the background of its formation.
HIGH PROFILE PAST EXECUTIVES OF THE GJA
Let me emphasise that with time, a number of high profile journalists some of whom had passed on to glory, had managed and steered the affairs of this noble and great institution with distinction. They included Messrs D.A. Dentu, Kwame Gyewu-Kyem, T.B. Ottie, Sam Arthur, Ambassador Kabral Blay- Amihere, Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, Ms. Ajoa Yeboah-Afari and Mr. Ransford Tetteh.
These noble personalities including those who have died, deserved a lot of commendation for their immense sacrifice and perseverance and, therefore, we should not allow their efforts to be in vain. All that we need to ask ourselves is, “For now, who watches the watchman?”
It appears that all is not lost and we need to wake up from our slumber and move the association on the right path and to its former glories. The journalism profession is a noble one and practitioners must be seen to be fighting for the down-trodden and to hold governments in check but not to chase ill-gotten wealth and also play into the hands of governments. The question we need to ask ourselves now is, “Who watches the watchman?”
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Even though Martin and his family were well known to my parents, the issue of my marriage to him generated great controversy at home. Mama thought he was nice and respectful, and since his parents were hardworking and of good report, he would be a good husband for me.
But Dada said nothing in his demeanour convinced him. Martin had to wait for over four months for their decision.
On my part, I was indifferent. All my friends and relatives thought he was a nice, respectable guy. And since he was a graduate with a good job at the Excel Health Insurance Company, they felt he would take good care of me.
I thought they made some sense. I quite liked him. He was always nicely dressed, and had the aura of a responsible person who had a great career future. But I didn’t feel the kind of love or even affection I thought I should feel for a prospective husband.
And the other problem was that even though everyone thought I was intelligent, I had been unable to pass WASSCE after three determined attempts. I badly wanted to get a degree.
But everyone encouraged me to go ahead. Love, they said, often developed over time. And as for getting a degree, there were so many paths. One could even write a matured students’ exam and enter the university.
And since Martin himself was a graduate, it was almost certain that he would assist me, since I would then be in a position to support him, at least financially.
Eventually, my parents came to some form of agreement. Dada would accept ‘drinks’ from Martin’s family to signify that he had agreed to our relationship, and I could even go and live with him if I wanted to. But he would agree to the actual formal ceremony after Martin had ‘proven himself’.
Martin was promoted to the rank of Manager and transferred to Takoradi. He rented a nice flat, and I joined him. Life was very comfortable, initially. Rather early in the day, he started coming home around eight about three days in the week, even though he closed at four-thirty.
He explained that he spent a couple of hours at the club house with his contemporaries working in Takoradi, and that it was nothing to worry about. At least, he said, I always knew where to find him. And moreover, he made sure he didn’t stay too late. I didn’t worry too much about it, because when he was home, we enjoyed each other’s company.
Then the problems with the ladies started. I saw the signs early. First, he always went out of earshot to take his calls. Then I started smelling ladies perfumes on his shirts. Then he put a password on his phone.
After many attempts, I broke into his phone, and saw quite a number of intimate exchanges between him and one Elaine. So the following morning, I called Elaine, introduced myself as Martin’s wife, and asked her to stop seeing him, forthwith. I assured her that if she didn’t, she would face worse problems than she was causing me.
That evening, Martin parked the car, flung the door open, and demanded to know why I called her. Before I could answer, he slapped me. I fell, more out of shock than the effect of the slap.
‘Sarah, you are lucky I didn’t give you some dirty blows!’ he declared as he walked away’.
I got up and went to the kitchen, turned off the half cooked jollof rice, and sat on the stool. He came in after several minutes.
‘Are you bringing my food or shall I get someone to give me food?’ I ignored him. He picked up the car keys and walked out. But he must have given up on that plan, because he returned to the kitchen, peeled some kenkey, put two pieces of chicken and some shito on the plate, and sat down to eat.
I spent the night in the spare room, alternating between thinking of my future outside marriage, and catching up on my WhatsApp messages. Before slipping into sleep, I prayed for guidance to take the right steps, and psyched myself up to live a disciplined, fruitful life, no matter the obstacles that came my way. I decided to start working towards university admission the following morning. I would buy the draft, do the application online, and treat myself to a good lunch.
I woke up at about 6.15, prepared breakfast, and went to the bathroom. I dressed and came to the hall to find that Martin had eaten breakfast and gone off to work. Just when I finished breakfast, my sister Dinah called from Brussels, and for the next hour and a half we discussed arrangements for her return. I locked up the shop at about ten, and was walking off to the bank when a young man stepped out of a pick-up vehicle with a Top Clean sign. He greeted, and I responded.
‘Sorry to disturb you, madam. Can I give you the past month’s cleaning bill?’
‘Ah, okay. Thank you’. He started walking away, then he stopped and turned.
‘Madam, I hope you don’t mind. Please forgive me. I stood, waiting.
Madam, you are very beautiful. Your husband is a very lucky man’. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
‘Oh madam. Please forgive me. I’m very, very sorry’.
‘Don’t worry’, I said. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong’.
‘Then please allow me to take you where you are going’.
‘I’m going to the nearest bank to make a draft’.
‘Okay, let’s go. Er, quite obviously, you are going to prepare the draft for a purpose. Do you mind if I take you there?’
‘I wouldn’t want to take up your time. After doing the draft, I’ll go to the nearest internet cafe to fill an online application’.
‘No problem. I’ll take you there. Please forgive me if I’m being a nuisance. But actually, I have a couple of hours to spare. And moreover, you are our client, so this is one way of thanking you for your patronage’.
‘Okay, you’re on. Let’s do it’.
He stopped at the bank, and I spent some twenty minutes getting the draft done. He was busy on his tablet when I got back, entering some figures into a table. He turned it off and started the engine.
‘Now’, he said, ‘let me take you to a comfortable cafe where the internet is reasonably fast, and you can work in some privacy. I’ve used it a couple of times. And as you’ve already seen, you can take as much time as you like. I’ll be doing some work’.
‘But, er…. I don’t even know your name’.
‘Paul. Paul Allotey. I’m Sarah, by the way. Paul, why don’t you leave me here, since this is the last important thing I’m doing today’.
‘Okay. Now Sarah. I was just thinking. You will be here at the cafe for about an hour. By then it will be about twelve thirty. By then, you would be thinking of buying yourself some lunch, to eat here or to take home. So if you would please allow me, I will take you to one of the nicest eating places in town, and after you have sorted that one out, then I can drop you home. Just that one errand, then I won’t bother you again’.
‘You are not bothering me at all. You are being very kind to me. And I just realised you are a mind reader too. The last item on my agenda was lunch’.
‘I’m so glad I appeared at your doorstep, just in time’.
‘Okay. Now Paul, since you say the cafe is a comfortable place, let’s go in together, and you can do your work while I get my application done’.
‘Okay, Sarah. Thanks. Let’s go’.
By Ekow de Heer
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LATELY it has become pretty difficult to distinguish between a Valentine fan and a Asante Kotoko supporter. The red colour is the veritable point of confusion.
Sometimes you are lucky to meet a Valentine celebrant who is also a Kotoko supporter. You can be sure that such a character will wear a red dress, red hat, red shoes and sport a red moustache. Certainly he is not a lunatic. The guy knows what he is about.
The problem with Valentine in Sikaman is that it has defied all manner of definitions. Even some people think it is a yam festival. So they procure palm oil to go with it. And why not? Isn’t palm oil red?
Others think it is a day of love, where love, properly but misguidedly defined, means sex. So they go from one drug store to another buying all sorts of condoms including Rough Rider and ‘Wo Ye Mecho’. Some go booking hotel rooms a day or two earlier. On February 14, those rooms will be turned into surgical units for the dissection of Valentine fools, those who mistake the occasion for fornication and adultery.
This year, the celebration of Valentine is taking a political turn. People say they will be demonstrating against something called Representation of People’s Amendment Bill (ROPAB). You can be sure that the demonstrators will be in pure red all over.
The funny thing about this bill is that it is the darling idea of one political party and snake venom for another. It all has to do with Ghanaians abroad, whether they are domiciled in Libya or Morocco or languishing in Iceland or Greenland.
If passed, this bill will enable them all to vote in general elections. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government wants it passed while the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Convention People’s Party (CPP) do not. They claim it could spark an inferno, a conflagration (many apologies to Arnold Quainoo).
These days, we are not hearing many Big English that are political in form and content. In the days of Jerry Rawlings, the English Language was much vibrant, spoke with revolutionary zeal, sometimes with military enthusiasm.
And when the famous historian and ex-presidential aspirant, Professor Adu Boahen, delivered his famous “Men on Horse Back” lecture, General Arnold Quainoo quickly delivered a rejoinder on the spot, promising an ‘inferno and conflagration’ if anybody wanted to change the status quo. He spoke in a voice of thunder, which some nearly mistook for an earthquake. Today, democracy has watered down the use of political bombast and militant grandiloquence to convey thought and intention.
Now ROPAB has taken centre stage and time and energy are expended on debating the pros and cons. The opposition parties, mainly NDC and CPP, think the law may cause confusion if it is implemented. NPP, on the other hand, think it is a romantic bill that will be even more romantic if passed and implemented. What is more Valentinic than making your brothers and sisters abroad voting alongside those at home to elect the country’s leadership, especially when the constitution endorses it?
Now, the NDC is saying over and over again that they do not object to the passage of the bill, but why pass a bill whose implementation could be problematic? They claim that disputes could arise in foreign lands over the authenticity of ballots, which could bring the outcome of elections into doubt.
Well, political jargons, theories and theorems have been invented to properly argue the knotty points, and people have already developed hypertension over this bill. Some have suggested a referendum; others have insinuated the use of lots (as in the Bible) to determine the issue.
In the midst of these, a new political party is alleged to have been formed. Very interesting developments lately. The ‘Daily Guide’ says it is Democratic Freedom Party (DFP).
Well, forming political parties is in the interest of democracy. Views in any democratic dispensation must necessarily be divergent to deepen the concept of democracy. It is exactly like in religion. The more churches split, the more Christianity is likely to spread further afield. So the split in churches must be welcomed rather than condemned, because no one church can save all mankind. The message of God must be propagated by binary fission and not by mere evangelistic diffusion.
So it is coming to pass that rumours of a third force are coming to some reality. But in all these, what amount of time and energy is expended in discussing on radio the basic needs of Ghanaians—food, clothing, and shelter? About only 10 per cent is spent on these. The rest is politics, politics, and politics. Is that the way forward?
This article was first published on
Saturday February 11, 2006
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