GJA award winners pick prizes

He explained that it became difficult for the association to get prizes for award winners after their major sponsors pulled out before the ceremony was organised on August 25, 2012

Mr Tetteh, therefore, thanked the Ministry of Information and Media Relations for coming to the rescue of the association.

He explained further that the annual awards ceremony was to ensure professionalism among journalists in the country and called on corporate bodies to continue to assist the GJA to sustain the organisation of the awards.

In his address, the Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Mahama Ayariga, said Ghana had been adjudged as the third best as far as media freedom in Africa was concerned.

He said by international assessment, Ghana had done better than the United States of America and France and commended the media for working tirelessly to achieve such a feat.

Mr Ayariga said he did not subscribe to the idea that errant journalists should be sanctioned, adding that such an awards scheme to reward media men and women was good to serve as a check and motivate journalists to do better.

The minister said his outfit would, therefore, continue to collaborate with the GJA to organise the awards, since the ministry had a mandate to promote the government's relations with the media.

He explained that the role of the private media in the enhancement of good governance could not be pushed aside and called on them to continue to engage the ministry in their activities.

Mr Ayariga said that type of engagement would not compromise the independence of the media and entice the media to be in bed with the government, but rather enable both the government and the media to consider themselves as partners in development.

  While urging the award winners to let the prizes inspire them to greater heights, he thanked the executive of the association for offering the ministry a chance to associate itself with the organisation of the awards.

A member of the awards committee and Chairperson of the Editors Forum, Ghana, Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, expressed relief that "at long last we have been able to deliver the prizes to the award winners" and thanked the Ministry of Information and Media Relations for its gesture.

Story by Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah