Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, President of the Ghana Journalists Association has urged journalists to be well-prepared ahead of the 2024 general elections.
He said journalists would provide extensive, thorough, and impartial election coverage in order to mark yet another milestone in Ghana’s democratic dispensation.
Mr. Dwumfour made the disclosure at the launch of the 27th GJA Media Awards in Accra on the theme “Leveraging Media Freedom To Sustain The Democratic And Security Architecture: The Litmus Test Of 2024 Elections.”
According to him, the theme is apt to prepare journalists for the impending crucial elections in 2024.
The GJA President stated that beyond the dictates of the GJA Constitution, the current administration of the Association is very much committed to the promotion of professional excellence and high journalistic standards.
“It is in this light that the GJA is delighted about the exploits of Paa Kwesi Asare of Media General in winning this year’s BBC New Komla Dumor Award. This is the first time a Ghanaian journalist has emerged as the winner in the eight-year history of the prestigious award in honour of the renowned Ghanaian broadcast journalist, Komla Dumor.”
He noted that the excitement around the flagship event of the GJA has started building up long before this afternoon’s launching ceremony.
“As you can see, we have the Executive Director of EOCO in our midst and her presence here goes beyond the title of Special Guest. She is here to affirm EOCO’s pledge to sponsor an award category this year. I am also pleased to inform you that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Jean Mensa has accepted to be the keynote speaker of the event.’
Mr. Dwumfour stated that there are 34 competitive award categories for grabs this year, adding “One of them I can share with you now is that in line with our innovative approach, we are introducing the Best Radio/TV Programme for Ghanaian Languages. Unlike the previous awards which had separate categories for Best Radio/TV Programme in six local languages, we have now merged all of them as one category. So whether it is Ga, Ewe, Nzema, Twi, Hausa, Dagbani or Krobo, they will all compete for one category.”
The 2023 event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at the Accra International Conference Center at 6 PM.
The awards will be open for three weeks and close on September 13, 2023.
The GJA Media Awards is organized annually to achieve one of the key objectives of the Association under Article 3(j) of the GJA Constitution 2004, which mandates the National Executive to “Reward and honour outstanding members periodically”. The essence is to promote professional excellence and high journalistic standards.