GJA Only Interested In Awards, Not Welfare Of Members -Fritz Baffour

Former Information Minister, Fritz Baffour has called on the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to seek the welfare of its members instead of organizing annual awards for journalists in the country.

The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, said the GJA must ensure that its members are insured. “They should look at the welfare of their members instead of organizing annual GJA Awards.

Commenting on recent road accidents involving journalists on Atinka AM Drive Monday, Fritz Baffour said, “the GJA should by now have a logbook that takes entries of its members who travel within and outside the country because as it stands now, the GJA is sleeping”.

The only thing they do is elections and the use of the press center but whatever is accrued from the services provided by the center should be used for the welfare of its members”.

The Member of National Media Commission (NMC) also said the Commission does no bite and its inaction has led to the breeding of charlatans in the profession adding, “it is the responsibility of practitioners to have credibility because when you chase mammon, you lose your credibility”.

The veteran journalist said the media is in business to get revenue but it does not mean “we should create tension in the country by the stories we write because we have a responsibility to the society as media persons. “Being journalists does not mean we should throw the society into disarray and this is where the GJA must regulate the activities of its members,” he added.

According to Mr. Baffour, the media today is very vibrant but expressed worry about content. “Content is what gives me worry because Ghana is polarized; we politicize every issue in the country and it is dangerous. Every single issue is politicized and that is not good for the country,” he explained.