I was 'forced' to be member of GJA - Journalist of the Year reveals

Ghana Journalists’ Association 2017 Journalist of the Year, Kwame Sefa Kayi has observed that the current seeming dormancy of the Association is due to leadership.

He recounted that unlike in his days as a young journalist, the current crop of leaders need to figure a way to make the Association more vibrant and incorporate the younger generation of journalists into the running of the Association.

Kwame Sefa Kayi recounted how he was made to join the Association by “force” through the insistence of the Vice President at the time, Gifty Afenyi Dadzie.

He revealed that it took the guidance of Gifty Afenyi Dadzie and her influence to get him registered as member of the Association.

He added that based on his experience he tends to understand the plight of the “younger ones” who complain about the current state of the GJA.

“There was a certain vibrancy about the GJA several years ago that is not there today. I can understand the young ones because when I also entered or became a member of the association, I was much much younger at the time, about 26 or 27-years-old and it was because the leadership at the time made a conscious effort to reach out to we the younger ones”

“I think there was a deliberate effort on their path to do a catch them young campaign programme and so I was actually ‘forced’ by Gifty Afenyi Dadzie who was like I want to see you at the Press Center, come let me give you an ID card and at the time I was like GJA, these kinds of old men and women why do I have to join them? But they made themselves open and accessible. They spent time with us, they took an interest”

The Journalist of the Year recounted an incident where the leadership of the Association at the time used to visit them at work, to socialise and get abreast of the issues confronting them.

He stated that “I was at Radio Gold at the time, Gifty Afenyi Dadzie, she was Vice-president then before she became President, she will just drive in and come and spend time with us younger journalists, just sit and talk about everything and nothing but slowly she pulled us in. And so I can understand when younger people like you complain that it doesn’t seem to be any path to the GJA. You don’t really see what it is that you should go and do there”

“I will blame it on leadership. Pure and simple!” he concluded