The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has called on the Minister of Information to lead the charge to demand better conditions of services for journalists.

According to him, journalists cannot perform their role as the fourth estate if they are not properly remunerated. 

“Although Ghanaian journalist play a significant role in the development of the country, their conditions of services are nothing to write home about. This is not limited to private media houses alone. Journalists in State-owned media also suffer a similar fate,” he said.

Mr Dwumfour was speaking at the GJA Annual Dinner on Thursday, December 21, 2023.

Referencing a similar demand by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), he mentioned that the IFJ demanded that media organisations pay media practitioners wages due them, in order for them to be cushioned amidst the skyrocketing inflation that has severely impacted many economies.

The GJA President said the lack of proper wages has forced journalists to rely on brown envelopes, popularly known as 'soli' to cater to their basic needs thereby jeopardizing media independence and freedom.

He stressed that “The issue of working conditions of journalists must be taken seriously as it has the tendency of affecting the performance of journalists in this country. I will call on the Honorable Minister of Information to lead this charge."