Manasseh Azure Awuni blasts ‘money-following’ GJA, reveals why he left the association

Renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has criticised the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for what he describes as “following money” and allowing private businesses to use its platforms to attack accountability journalism in the country.

Manasseh, a former member of the association, said in a social media post on MMonday, November 3 that he left the GJA in 2017 after the leadership at the time “fought me for fighting corruption.”

“In 2017, I left the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and have since not been a member. I left because the association fought me for fighting corruption,” he said.

According to him, his investigative work that year led to the cancellation of a $74 million fraudulent contract awarded to the Jospong Group. However, instead of celebrating the impact of the work, the GJA leadership turned against him.

“The GJA President issued a press statement attacking my story. The press statement did not state anything wrong with the investigation, which was adjudged the overall best story in the 2018 West Africa Media Excellence Awards (WAMECA),” Manasseh recounted.

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He said the GJA’s main concern at the time was that a “profitable Ghanaian business” had been affected by the exposé, insisting that such businesses should not be destroyed “in the name of investigative journalism.”

Fast forward to this year, he said the GJA again offered its platform for a similar attack against The Fourth Estate, the non-profit investigative project he leads. The Fourth Estate had published a report on the KGL Group’s contract with the National Lotteries Authority (NLA).

The report alleged that the contract diverted revenue meant for the NLA to the private company, leaving the authority with “only peanuts.”

At the launch of the 2025 GJA Awards, the Executive Chairman of the KGL Group, Alex Apau Dadey, referenced The Fourth Estate’s publication, describing it as “irresponsible and sensational journalism.”

He was quoted as saying:

“The tendency to undermine our own across the country is worrying. The default reaction to successful local champions is often suspicion rather than celebration. Why do we cheer foreign conglomerates but question the success of local ones?”

Manasseh described these remarks as “unfortunate” and said the GJA should not be complicit in promoting such narratives.

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“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,” he said.

He warned that such comments “incite the public against journalists and media houses doing accountability journalism,” adding that it “paints the journalists as enemies of the state and of Ghanaian interests.”

The award-winning journalist also questioned why this year’s GJA Awards had been renamed the GJA/KGL Awards, suggesting that the association’s close relationship with corporate sponsors could compromise its integrity.

“Irrespective of KGL's sponsorship package, its officials shouldn’t be given the platform to undermine the very journalism that the GJA awards were created to honour,” he said.

Manasseh dismissed claims that Ghanaian journalists were anti-local business.

“There are thousands of local businesses that have been built with the support of the media,” he noted. “But there are also so-called businesses that sprout overnight, connive with politicians to sign obscene contracts that are detrimental to the interests of the state.”

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He likened calls to shield Ghanaian companies from accountability to condoning criminality.

“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.”

Manasseh argued that any company involved in public contracts must be ready to answer questions. He said Ghanaian ownership should not be used as a shield against scrutiny or accountability.

He further cautioned that using GJA platforms to attack or discourage investigative journalists undermines the very values the association was created to protect. He urged the GJA to remain independent and act in the best interests of its members and good journalism.