By: Alhaji Ibrahim Adam
This year the GJA Awards Committee nominated Central Regional correspondent of Joy 99.7 FM, Richard Kwadwo. When I was on my way to the ceremony I called Richard because we had spoken earlier when he was setting off from Cape Coast with his newly-wedded wife.
When I called this time, he said he had arrived at the Press Centre for his ticket to the ceremony. At the Press Centre, he said he went upstairs to see the GJA General Secretary, Mr David Agbenu, for his ticket but Mr Agbenu told him to go down and wait. He said he waited about “two hours” without a word from anybody. When he went up to remind Mr Agbenu that he was still waiting, the General Secretary told him to go home because he was not a member of the GJA.
The first question I asked my colleague was whether he was a member. Richard said he bought a form and applied to be a member of the GJA two years ago. He said he made a number of follow-ups to ascertain the status of his application, and possibly to get an identification card from the GJA but without any luck. He said during GJA executive elections this year, his name was published in both the Daily Graphic and The Ghanaian Times as GJA member in good standing. He therefore voted to elect the current executive.
“That’s what informed my decision to apply for the awards this year,” he told me. “Previously, I wanted to apply but I didn’t know the status of my application, so I thought I wasn’t a member.”
Richard admitted he received a call from a member of the 18th GJA Awards Committee two days before the committee announced names of award winners for this year. The committee member, he said, raised questions about his membership of the association and he explained to him all that had happened from the time he applied. The committee member, he said, told him that he had been nominated but the final decision would be based on the decision taken on his membership status.
Two days later, the awards committee named him as one of the awardees at a press conference, which was attended by some GJA executive, including Mr David Agbenu.
So at what point did the committee agree that Richard Kwadwo Nyarko was not a GJA member in good standing? Why was he not disqualified before the names were mentioned when the issue came up long before the names of awardees were made public? Why did they have to allow him to drive all the way from Cape Coast with his wife to attend a ceremony only to be told that he should go back because he did not qualify? Was it a deliberate attempt to subject him to humiliation and ridicule? Or the committee, based on his explanation that he had seen his name and voted, got convinced but someone else thought otherwise? And at what point was that decision taken? And why was this decision not communicated to him?
The facts of the matters
On Sunday, a day after the awards, I had a long telephone conversation with the GJA General Secretary in order to understand the issues. I asked Mr Agbenu why Richard Kwadwo Nyarko’s name was published for him to vote when he was not a member? He said that could have been a mistake on the part of the GJA in compiling the names. I again asked why the committee went ahead to announce his name when they knew he was not a member and did not qualify for the award? He again said that could have been a mistake on the part of the committee.
On Monday, I called the Central Regional Chairman of the GJA, Mrs Alice Tettey, because I was told the disqualification came on the recommendation of the regional executives. But instead of speaking to the issues, she went on and on about how Richard was arrogant, would not attend meetings she called, and said they should discuss the issues on the whatsapp platform. She spoke at length about how he went about “lying” to his colleagues and how she was being insulted. “Everybody is calling me,” she said. “Is he the first person who was nominated but did not win any award?”
I waited patiently. She succeeded in exhausting my credit so I called with my second line. When she was done, I had the opportunity to tell her why I had called.
Is Richard Kwadwo Nyarko a member of the GJA? I asked.
No, she said.
Why?
He has not regularized his membership status. He has not paid dues.
But he claims you published his name this year as a member in good standing and he even voted to elect executive members of the association? Had he paid any dues then?
No.
Then why did you allow him to vote?
He said he would pay later and since we know one another in this region, we accept promises. That’s how we do things here.
Would he not have paid if you allowed him to pick the award?
As for the award it’s different.
How different is it? How can one be qualified as a member in good standing in election but disqualified when he is nominated for award?
It is different. We had a call from Accra and wanted to know whether he had paid his dues. The Constitution of the GJA says if you don’t pay dues for six months, you automatically lose your membership…..
Has Richard Kwadwo Nyarko ever applied to be a member of the GJA?
Yes. he applied two years ago. I was even the one who went to Accra to submit his application form…
Between the time he applied and now as we speak, did you ever tell him his membership status or give him any information to the effect that his application had been rejected or accepted, or dues etc?
Breda, as for this your interrogation, it’s too much.
And she did not say a word beyond this. We ended the chat.
If Richard Kwadwo Nyarko was denied because he had not paid dues for six months to the election, then he was treated unfairly. Why? I know someone who had not paid GJA dues for the past 14 months to the election. The Committee did not disqualify her. She only went to pay after her name was announced. So why was Richard not given the chance to pay and take his prize?
The GJA executive will also have questions to answer if their reason is that they hadn’t finished processing Richard’s membership. Two years is enough to process an application. And if Richard’s application had not been accepted, how did his name get onto the GJA’s list of members in good standing?
The GJA When I applied to be a member of the association, I did not receive any reply. I followed up many times until I was told to just come and pay my membership dues. And that’s what happens to applicants.
I was then a freelance journalist and apart from my own ID card, I needed a GJA ID card badly. I was unknown and many sources treated my own ID card with pitiful contempt. It took me two years to get my GJA ID card after I had paid for it. When the card finally arrived, it had expired. I drew the attention of the executive and they promised to replace it. It has been more than one year and I have no idea when I will get my GJA ID card.
I agree with the GJA that membership of the association should be a prerequisite for winning their awards. After all, if the GJA is not good enough to join, then their award should not be good enough for you. But the GJA executive have a lot to do if they want members and potential members to take the association seriously.
