GJA holds extraordinary Congress to discuss contentious issues

Accra, Sept. 12, GNA - The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Friday held an extraordinary congress in Accra to deliberate on the way forward on the recent electoral dispute over the GJA Presidency and the protest on the award of the Best Journalist of the Year for 2000/2001 to Mr Komla Dumor, a radio presenter.

The Congress is to provide members with the opportunity to authoritatively resolve issues for which the GJA Constitution is not explicit as provided in Article 16 of the Association's Constitution. The Provision states: "In the interpretation of the Constitution and the determination of the programme and policy of the Association, the supreme authority shall be the Congress of delegates whose decision shall be final."

In attendance at the meeting were both Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Editor of the Daily Graphic newspaper, who was elected GJA President and Mr Yaw Owusu-Addo, Director of Radio, his contender.

Mr Owusu-Addo challenged the results and called for the nullification of the vote for the presidency.

He asked that he should be declared President since Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh was not a paid-up member of the Association at the time he filed his nomination.

Mr Komla Dumor, whose selection as Best Journalist of the Year 2000/2001, has been disputed, was also present.

In a welcoming speech, Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, the outgoing President of the GJA, said current concerns about the future of the Association could not be dismissed as wishful thinking, when one considers the fact that a section of the membership were threatening to break away.

She said the current Executive of the GJA was literally being held hostage to continue in office, because of the debate over the issues. This is despite a congressional decision extending their mandate up to the end of August, Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie said.

The GJA President also appealed to members to look into the future and revisit the criteria used by the GJA Awards Committee. She prayed the members to accept the outcome of the deliberations on the two issues and recommended the setting up of a Constitutional Review Committee to receive memoranda from members on the improvement of the Association's constitution.

"The next administration could then make it one of its major tasks to strengthen the Constitution," the GJA President said.

The Congress then went into a closed-door session, with some veteran journalists sitting in as observers.

A release would be issued after the congress.

Following the objection raised by Mr Owusu-Addo on the eligibility of Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh to contest the election, the GJA appointed the three-member Ad-Hoc Committee to look into the matter.

Headed by Mr Yonny Kulendi, the Committee, which looked into the matter, upheld Mr Owusu-Addo's petition and nullified the candidature and subsequent election of Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh. It then declared Mr Owusu-Addo President-elect.

A section of members of the GJA, however, challenged the verdict of the Kulendi Committee and threatened to break away if Mr Owusu-Addo was sworn in as President.