GJA to engage stakeholders in politics

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has commenced a programme to engage key stakeholders in politics to implement plans and strategies to ensure free, fair and acceptable polls in December.

The stakeholders include the National Media Commission, the Electoral Commission, the National Commission for Civic Education, the various political parties contesting the elections, among others.

The Vice-President of the GJA, Mr Affail Monney, announced this in Koforidua during a media forum on the theme: “Media Freedom has the Power to Transform Society,” to mark this year's World Press Freedom Day.

He said the GJA would ensure that its regional chapters engaged political actors to ensure peace in the elections.

According to him, the move was consistent with Article Seven of the guidelines on electoral coverage which enjoins journalists to subject the manifestoes of political parties to thorough scrutiny.

Mr Monney appealed to media owners and employers to enhance the pay and working conditions of journalists to reduce mediocrity and raise professional standards.

The Team Leader of the Media Capacity Building Project of the Africa Adaptation Programme on Climate Change, Mrs Ama Kudom Agyeman, urged the media to create awareness of issues that affected humanity as a result of climate change.

He asked journalists to go beyond reported speeches and interrogate, investigate, review and research, so that their stories could stimulate action and help resolve challenges.

The Mamfehene and Kyidomhene of the Akuapem Traditional Area, Nana Ansah Sasraku, said it was not by default that the media were categorised as the Fourth Estate of the Realm and asked journalists to live up to expectation.