President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has reaffirmed the Association’s readiness to partner Parliament to sponsor a Private Member’s Bill aimed at improving the economic and working conditions of journalists in Ghana.
He said the proposed legislation would provide a framework for addressing the welfare challenges confronting media practitioners, including poor remuneration and unfavourable working conditions, which he believes have implications for the country’s performance on the World Press Freedom Index.
Speaking during a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Mr Dwumfour said the GJA was prepared to work with Parliament to advance the proposed legislation.
“We also want to assure you that we are ready to support you in your quest to pass a legislation,” he told the Speaker, recalling an earlier engagement with parliamentary leadership on the need for a law to regulate and improve conditions within the media space.
Mr Dwumfour said the Association was prepared not only to advocate for the bill but also to collaborate in its sponsorship, with support from its development partners and sponsors.
“In your quest to ensure that journalists are well taken care of, well paid, the GJA wants to say that we are ready to partner; we have our donors and sponsors who are also ready to support us. And that, Rt. Hon. Speaker, if you give us the opportunity… we are ready to partner in sponsoring that Private Member’s Bill to look at improved working conditions for journalists,” the GJA President stated.
He explained that the legislation, once passed and assented to, could improve the economic indices of Ghana’s media ecosystem, making journalists’ welfare a central consideration in efforts to strengthen the industry, saying it “will guide and that will see at least the Ghanaian media ecosystem improving on the economic indices.”
Economic conditions affecting Ghana’s press freedom ranking
Mr Dwumfour further linked the proposed legislative intervention to Ghana’s performance on the World Press Freedom Index, arguing that the country’s position has been affected not only by physical attacks on journalists but also by economic challenges within the media industry.
He noted that the introduction of economic indicators into the assessment of press freedom had made the financial and professional conditions under which journalists operate increasingly significant.
“In fact, for the past few years, our decline on the World Press Freedom Index has not been on only assault, physical assault on journalists,” he said.
“Since 2019, they introduced new indices and one of the indices was the economic condition, economic indices. And that has affected us greatly in our position on the World Press Freedom Index,” he added.
The GJA President’s remarks highlight the Association’s position that improving journalists’ welfare should form part of broader efforts to strengthen press freedom in Ghana. His proposed approach places economic security alongside the protection of journalists from physical attacks as an important consideration in the media environment.
“And so once that is improved, we can be rest assured that Ghana will take its rightful position. We have always remained between first and third on the African continent,” he stated.
Speaker Bagbin’s response
In response to a request from the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin expressed readiness to support efforts to develop the legislation, indicating that Parliament’s drafting department could assist in preparing the proposed bill without exclusively depending on the Office of the Attorney-General.
The Speaker also underscored the need to improve journalists’ working conditions, observing that financial rewards in the profession remained inadequate for many practitioners.
Courtesy call ahead of 30th GJA Media Awards
The GJA delegation’s visit to the Speaker was also to formally invite him to the Association’s 30th GJA Media Awards, scheduled for November 7, 2026, on the theme: “30th GJA Media Awards: Celebrating Excellence, Advancing Media Freedom and Combating Hate Speech in the Digital Age.”
The engagement provided an opportunity for the Association to inform the Speaker about plans for the awards event, including a formal announcement that Speaker Bagbin has been selected as one of the few dignitaries to be awarded for his remarkable contribution to the media industry.
President John Dramani Mahama is expected to be the Guest of Honour at the 30th GJA Media Awards.
By Christian Yalley
