Former president of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mrs. Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, says journalists in the country now require a leadership that would exercise discretion its dealings to meet the expectations of media practitioners.
Speaking exclusively to 3News on Friday after voting in the National GJA elections, she argued Ghanaian journalists have now grown to be more vigilant and demanding, hence require a leadership that would ensure the Association thrives.
“The GJA has grown from strength to strength and our members are now more anxious for vibrant leadership; leadership that will use discretion to bring us to another level,” she told 3News.
A total of 656 members of the GJA are voting nationwide in the Friday’s poll, which will see the Association elect new executives to lead the widely criticised GJA or the next three years.
Mrs. Affenyi-Dadzie underscored the need for the new leadership to be elected to understand that the media terrain has changed, and requires a consultative approach to be effective.
“I’m just hoping the new leadership that will emerge from today will know that the terrain has changed. Our people have become more demanding, our people are becoming more vigilant and so…we have to consult. I used that approach and it worked so there has to be consensus,” she observed.
For her, there have to be some decisions, which ought to emanate from members of the association in the grassroots and then shaped and presented to authority for consideration.
She said she expects journalists to elect good “good leaders” in the polls to move the association forward.
The GJA has in recent times received a lot of backlash for some of its stands which some believe have not been in the interest of journalists in the country, with some people calling for a change of the Affail Monney leadership.
Mr Monney’s utterances on investigative journalism in Ghana, attack on a GBC journalist by a former presidential staffer, as well as the accident involving the presidential press corps that led to the death of one journalist has widely been condemned.
But on what leadership of the GJA must do to win the support of the journalists and make the association attractive, Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie said the leaders have to be objective, committed and dedicated to the cause of journalists.
“At the helm of affairs at the GJA, one needs to be very, very objective; one needs to be dedicated and committed and one has to take a firm stand. I had a backlash several times but because of leadership, I just took it in good stead,” she advised.
No need for splinter group
The former GJA president said despite the excess of the association, there is no need for a splinter journalists association to be established on the basis that it would not make any impact.
In her estimation, whaterver the issues are with the Association could be remedied, saying “What is it that we cannot solve in the GJA?
“If you look at splinter groups in other associations, they haven’t had united front and I think that let’s help the GJA to be strong and stronger,” she urged.
She added: “As we build the nation let’s help the GJA to be stronger, let those who want to leave come with their ideas, let it reflect in this voting and let us build the GJA forward. United we stand.”
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana