Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has urged the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to resist the influence of corporate entities for the protection of the interest of members and good journalism.
Reacting to the partnership between the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and KGL Group to organize a media awards scheme, Manasseh questions why the GJA would give its platform to a company to unwarrantedly attack the work of investigative journalists of the Fourth Estate.
“If the title sponsor of the GJA media awards is calling The Fourth Estate’s work “sensational and irresponsible,” using GJA’s platform, then what kind of journalism is the GJA seeking to reward?”
Manasseh Azure Awuni, Investigative Journalist and Anti-corruption Crusader
Manasseh further recounted his experiences with the GJA, stating how he has on some occasions been attacked for his publications, with such attacks not citing any wrongdoing with respect to the code of conduct for journalists.
He emphasized that one such incident led to his exit from the association in 2017, when the president of the Ghana Journalists Association issued a press statement attacking his investigative story on the Jospong Group.
“In 2017, I left the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and have since not been a member. I left because the association fought me for fighting corruption. I had published an investigation that resulted in the cancellation of a $74 million fraudulent contract awarded to the Jospong Group. The GJA president issued a press statement attacking my story. The press statement did not state anything wrong with the investigation.”
Manasseh Azure Awuni, Investigative Journalist and Anti-corruption Crusader
Manasseh further added that in 2018, the same story that had been attacked by the president of the GJA was adjudged the overall best story in the 2018 West Africa Media Excellence Awards (WAMECA).
Manasseh added that the president’s concern was that profitable Ghanaian businesses were being affected, as the president stated that businesses should not be destroyed in the name of investigative journalism.
He further noted that in a similar situation, the GJA offered its platform for an attack on the work of the Fourth Estate that was published on the National Lotteries Authority’s (NLA) contract with KGL Group.
He added that the said contract “diverted the income that should have been coming to the NLA to the private company, while the NLA gets only peanuts.”
He stated that he is yet to hear of any rebuttal to the substance of the Fourth Estate’s report, even though at the GJA’s award launch, the Executive Director of the KGL Group attacked the report, describing it as “irresponsible and sensational journalism.”
“The Executive Chairman of the KGL Group, Mr. Alex Apau Dadey, said, among others, “The tendency to undermine our own across the country is worrying. The default reaction to successful local champions is often suspicion rather than celebration. Why do we cheer foreign conglomerates but question the success of local ones?” Of course, he mentioned The Fourth Estate and referenced the publication on the NLA-KGL contract. He called The Fourth Estate’s work “irresponsible and sensational” journalism.”
Manasseh Azure Awuni, Investigative Journalist and Anti-corruption Crusader
Manasseh described these actions of the GJA as unfortunate, cautioning that the GJA should not “follow money and allow private businesses caught in accountability journalism to spread this tired and false narrative that seeking accountability for public resources means destroying local businesses.”
He further added that narratives of that nature “incite the public against journalists and media houses doing accountability journalism. It paints the journalists as enemies of the state, enemies of Ghanaian interests.”
“I don’t remember the GJA awards ever being named together with a sponsor, but this year’s event goes by the joint name GJA/KGL Awards. Irrespective of KGL’s sponsorship package, its officials shouldn’t be given the platform to undermine the very journalism that the GJA awards were created to honor.”
Manasseh Azure Awuni, Investigative Journalist and Anti-corruption Crusader
Manasseh emphasized that the narrative that Ghanaian journalists are against local businesses is not true, adding that many local businesses have grown through the help of the Ghanaian media.
He emphasized that the “so-called businesses that sprout overnight and connive with politicians to sign obscene contracts that are detrimental to the interests of the state” are the ones whose dealings are often exposed.
“To say that the media should not expose them because they are local businesses is like saying a thief or an armed robber who attacks you should be set free if he is a Ghanaian. Exposing corruption or unconscionable business dealings is not synonymous with targeting Ghanaian businesses.”
Manasseh Azure Awuni, Investigative Journalist and Anti-corruption Crusader
He further emphasized that if the aim is to undermine local businesses, then he would investigate them even when they deal with private entities; however, his investigations focus on the dealings of these companies with the state, where public resources are at stake.
He therefore cautioned that “using a GJA platform to dampen the spirit of the few media houses doing accountability journalism with such false and sweeping claims is detrimental to journalism,” adding that “the GJA must resist corporate capture and act in the interest of its members and good journalism.”
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