Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has revealed that he resigned from the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in 2017 after what he described as the Association’s attempt to undermine his anti-corruption work.
In a detailed Facebook post made on Monday, November 3, titled “Why I Left the GJA,” the award-winning journalist said his decision followed what he called the Association’s “attack” on his investigation that exposed a $74 million fraudulent contract involving the Jospong Group.
According to Manasseh, although his report led to the cancellation of the contract and was later adjudged the overall best story at the 2018 West Africa Media Excellence Awards (WAMECA), the GJA President at the time issued a press statement criticising his work.
“The GJA’s statement did not state anything wrong with the investigation,” he wrote, adding that the Association rather appeared to defend the business interests affected by the exposé.
“The statement said profitable Ghanaian businesses should not be destroyed in the name of investigative journalism,” he added.
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Manasseh further criticised the GJA for what he described as a repeat of the same mistake during its recent awards launch, where he claimed the Association offered its platform for remarks that indirectly attacked The Fourth Estate, the investigative outlet he leads.
He said the comments by Mr. Alex Apau Dadey, Executive Chairman of KGL Group, at the launch suggested that investigative reports such as The Fourth Estate’s exposé on the KGL–National Lotteries Authority (NLA) contract were attempts to “undermine local businesses.”
“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,” Manasseh stated.
He described such rhetoric as dangerous, saying it “incites the public against journalists” and weakens the work of those pursuing corruption and accountability stories.
Manasseh also expressed concern that this year’s awards had been branded as the “GJA/KGL Awards”, noting that previous editions had not been jointly named with sponsors. He cautioned that allowing sponsors accused of wrongdoing to use GJA platforms could undermine the integrity of the awards and journalism as a whole.
He stressed that Ghanaian journalists are not opposed to local businesses but have a duty to expose corruption involving public funds.
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“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,” he wrote.
Manasseh further explained that his investigations into companies such as Zoomlion have always focused on contracts involving public resources, not private dealings. “If a business enters into a contract that involves public funds, it should be prepared to account to the public,” he said.
He called on the GJA to “resist corporate capture” and uphold its responsibility to defend good journalism rather than protect business interests.
“The GJA must act in the interest of its members and good journalism,” he concluded.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
