Feature: On The Threshold Of A Twin Jubilee

A GNA Feature by Mohammed Nurudeen Issahaq

Bolgatanga, Nov. 15, GNA - That this beautiful nation Ghana has a twin sister is a historical fact that has been lost to a significant majority of our countrymen over the decades. The "Osagyefo," Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory, gave birth to this senior twin sister several hours before Ghana "came into being". The Ghana News Agency was born on March 5, 1957, with no less a personality than Dr. Nkrumah himself performing the official naming ceremony.

"I foresee the day when, in the press of the World, any news item warranted by the initial GNA will find an unchallengeable place in any newspaper of standing, wherever it may be," the visionary Leader predicted. He had personally involved the reputable British news agency, Reuters, in the establishment of this brainchild, which, as he put it, "would tell the African story through the eyes of the African."

Just as he catapulted Ghana on to the forefront of the African liberation struggle, the dream of the nation's First Head of State was to nurture that the GNA, the first news agency in Sub-Saharan Africa, into an instrument to counter the biased and distorted image of the African Continent by the world's giant news organizations, the same incidence the Continent's Leaders continue to complain about today. So it came to pass that from a modest start with three reporters and a skeletal back-up staff, the GNA grew and establish links with a wide range of major news agencies and wire service networks across the globe, telling the Ghanaian story as it was; selling Ghana abroad and spreading the gospel of African unity. For as long as its father and founder lived, the Agency lacked no resources. And reciprocally, it discharged its mandate satisfactorily, never compromising its cardinal principles of accuracy, speed, objectivity, timeliness and professionalism.

Since it came into existence, no other media organization, print or electronic, has covered Ghana as extensively as the GNA. With Regional Offices, District Correspondents and Stringers throughout the nation, this undisputable news leader has brought to the notice of Ghanaians and the outside world important events from the remotest rural communities; it has documented the actions, hopes, aspirations, fears and frustrations of the people as they have unfolded, not for once reneging on its sacred duty to uphold national unity and cohesion. With the devotion of a loyal ally the GNA has been there for successive governments since the First Republic, discharging its role in conveying government policy to the people and relaying back to Government the people's views.

In spite of this unflinching service, the Agency's story has been one of relegation and deprivation since the exit of the Nkrumah regime. Most of the politicians, who came onto the scene subsequently appended it a lower status, exhibiting a take it or leave it attitude when it came to the allocation of resources to the GNA. As a matter of fact, its continued existence to date has been largely due to divine intervention, as the Agency came very close to liquidation under one of the previous regimes. Talks about privatizing and commercializing that kept emanating from the corridors of power only went to reinforce speculations that the Agency's fate hanged in a balance.

The situation assumed crisis proportions, and was worsened by the unfortunate perception among some politicians and academicians who, in a rare display of ignorance about the actual role of a news agency, sought to suggest that the emergence of the Internet had rendered the national wire service redundant.

However, good reason prevailed and it soon dawned on all concerned that the net does not conjure stories, so therefore media outlets like the GNA must stay around to gather news especially from remote areas like Bantafarigu-Farfar in the Upper East Region and Coaltar-Anfatefi in the Eastern Region before those of us in the cities can find them on the Internet.

In the same vein, and contrary to some ill-informed public conception, the emergence of private newspapers and FM radio stations does not in anyway diminish the relevance of GNA. In fact, the Agency's leading role in news dissemination has been reinforced. On the average about 90 per cent of the news read over these private radio stations emanate from the GNA. That is the reason why all the radio station read the same news.

The advent of the present Government, which by every indication is media friendly, and the appointment of Mr Dan Botwe to the Information Ministry brought a renewed hope among the Management and staff of the Agency - and justifiably too. During his brief stay in the Ministry, Mr Botwe's performance rating cannot be paralleled by any other before him as far as the GNA is concerned.

This writer has worked as a rural reporter in the Upper East for a quarter of a century and for all those years, Mr Botwe has been the only Information Minister so far to set foot in the GNA's district offices there, to see at first hand the conditions under which journalists in the Region worked. That show of concern alone was a huge achievement. This was a sentiment unanimously expressed by all media representatives in Bolgatanga, whose premises he visited.

Added to this gesture was the action initiated by the Former Minister to provide a pickup vehicle for each of the GNA's 10 regional offices nationwide to facilitate their newsgathering effort, particularly when it comes to reaching the rural areas where about three-quarters of the nation's population reside.

Over the years GNA reporters in the Districts, driven by the passion to serve the nation, have had to climb on ramshackle market trucks and travel on some of the most hazardous roads/tracks imaginable to cover news events in remote villages. Although Mr Botwe did not remain in the Ministry of Information and National Orientation long enough to accomplish this goal, workers of the Agency have similar faith in the goodwill of his successor, Mr Kwamena Bartels.

About four months from now Ghana and her twin sister, the GNA, would be celebrating their 50th year of existence but just what would the celebration look like? In traditional Ghanaian society, twins are regarded as one in body, mind and soul. Their destinies are believed to be inter-woven; each sharing the other's joy or pain; fortune or misfortune; successes or failures thoughts and emotions. The case we are looking at here, however, presents an entirely different picture. The life of one twin sister is a long chain of achievements, opulence and satisfaction while that of the other twin is a tale of headaches, virtual starvation and never-ending tribulation.

Her chequered history, notwithstanding, Ghana has undeniably made giant strides during the past half century, chalking enviable achievements on the political, social and economic fronts. The same, however, cannot be said about the GNA whose life has witnessed a progressively downward trend, particularly in the second half of those 50 years.

A constantly dwindling subvention, delayed salaries arising from late arrival of the monthly subvention; none-replacement of the few overused computers and other essential work tools that give rise to the loss of job satisfaction; the complicated bureaucracy that makes the release of funds to the Agency painfully cumbersome and the general lack of that essential element of motivation needed to galvanise the rank and file to go the extra mile, all go to sum up the GNA story.

For those who knew the Agency's once vibrant newsroom in the days of Mr T.B. Otie and K.B. Brown, the spectacle it presents today is one of shocking disbelief. The frustration and desperation resulting from the aforementioned factors have driven many of the good men and women into other establishments that are capable of offering material comfort. But that is not the way things were meant to be.

Notwithstanding the turbulent times it has been through, the GNA continues to look into the future with hope. A glance at the sunny side of things gives a reassuring indication that all is not lost yet, as a significant number of dedicated good hands are still around. Given the needed support and encouragement, the current Management under the leadership of the General Manager, Nana Appau Duah, is capable of steering the nation's only wire service out of the woods and taking it to glorious shores, where it is destined to berth.

Since Ghana and the GNA were meant to share a common destiny in the vision of the Founder of this great nation, it would be important for the Government to recognize the important place GNA occupies in our national life.

Its establishment was part of a comprehensive communications policy that sought to harness the information arm of the State to build a viable, cohesive nation, a quest, which remains very relevant today as it did about 50 years ago. It was also meant to help to mobilize the people for economic and social development, as well as reinforce/consolidate the sense of belonging and common identity among the people of Ghana, an objective which is more relevant now than ever before, considering the recent upsurge of apathy, ethnocentricity, unnecessary polarisation and other social divisions that constitute a menace to national integration.

No matter from what angle one looks at it, therefore, revamping the Ghana News Agency would remain a crucial part of the national development agenda, and in deed, one of the greatest legacies the present Government can leave behind for posterity is to rededicate itself to revitalizing this important national asset, taking a cue from the support governments in other countries such as Britain, France and China to mention a few, have continued to give to the BBC/Reuters; AFP and Xinhua news agencies.

For starters, Government should as a matter of urgency, work out a comprehensive package towards the re-engineering of the GNA as part of the "Ghana @ 50" agenda and as part of the way forward. As a matter of fact, there is a feeling among the entire GNA workforce that if there is ever the chance that the fortunes of GNA could change for the better, it is now or never.

A colleague from GNA told me in confidence the other day that while on leave at his village he had gone to consult an Oracle. Among other things, the Oracle said the spirit of President Nkrumah was shuttling restlessly between the Mausoleum at High Street and the GNA offices on Kinbu Road, lamenting over the helpless state this precious child of his now found herself.

Restoring the Agency to the vibrant news organization it once was among its peers worldwide, therefore, is both a spiritual duty and a social imperative for the ruling Government. Appeasing the spirit of the nation's Founder would confer lots of blessing on the Government and immense benefits on Ghana - thus declareth the Oracle.