A presidential aspirant in the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) national elections, Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, says he will focus on the welfare and security of members when given the mandate to lead the association.

He also pledged to introduce programmes that would seek to bring bonding among members of the GJA, as well as rebranding the association.

Speaking to members of the Graphic Communications Group Limited chapter of the association last Friday, he promised to be accountable and ensure all-inclusiveness under his leadership.

As part of his visit, he also presented 70 packs of Omal face masks and 80 bottles of 200ml Omal sanitiser to the editorial department.

Welfare

According to Mr Dwumfour, the welfare package would include an insurance policy and scholarship programmes for members of the association.

He noted that the conditions of service of journalists in the country was nothing to write home about hence his quest to turn the situation around.

Throwing more light on the insurance package, Mr Dwumfour said he would establish an insurance package on health, pension, and funeral, among others, for members.

“We know that most media houses in Ghana do not have health packages for their members and for that matter some members even struggle to seek medical attention due to financial constraints when they are unwell,” he explained.

He said the policy would be introduced during his first year in office if elected GJA president.

“My vision is, therefore, to create an insurance package that will see to the welfare and interest of our members. The members can fall on it should their companies not insure them. This will be done in my first year in office,” he promised.

According to him, a seed capital of GH¢1 million would be set aside to cater for the needs of pensioners in the association.

Mr Dwumfour further pledged to ensure that the security of journalists became paramount to the association.

“Our security cannot be negotiated on any grounds. We should be able to go about our daily activities without fear or panic. And we will make sure we use all the means and the connections to bring all the stakeholders on a round table to discuss so we don’t compromise our security,” he said.

Scholarship scheme

Elaborating on the scholarship scheme, Mr Dwumfour said professional development of media practitioners was one of the key priorities on his agenda.

“The world is evolving. Social media is competing with traditional media. So, we need to position ourselves. How do we position ourselves so that we will not be irrelevant in some years to come? All these things are going to be factored into capacity building,” he said.

This will be achieved, he added, by employing his charisma, exuberance, ingenuity and resourcefulness.

GJA Chapters

Underscoring the important role of GJA chapters, Mr Dwumfour said it was important that they were strengthened and logistically empowered to perform their duties.

In line with that, he said five GJA regional offices would be constructed in his first tenure of office.