Use dividend for staff welfare - NMC Chairman, Daily Graphic

THE Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, has asked the management of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) to channel its annual dividend into the welfare of staff of the company.
Inaugurating a new Board of Directors for the GCGL in Accra yesterday, Mr Blay-Amihere wondered why, at a time the company was facing financial challenges, it was paying dividend to the government.
 He said the annual dividend could be “re-invested in the welfare of staff and other areas of operation to enable the company to serve this nation better”.
The board, chaired by Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, comprises Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, the Managing Director of the GCGL; Prof Kwame Karikari, Mr Ben Assorow, Mr Gideon Quarcoo, Hajj Mohammed Amir Kpakpo Addo, Mr Gerald Ankrah and Nana Asantewaa Afadzinu.
Ghana has four state-owned media institutions, namely, the GCGL, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the Ghana News Agency and the New Times Corporation.
Mr Blay-Amihere said while there was the need for prudent financial management and strict accountability in all the state-owned media to ensure their viability, the related welfare of workers was also critical.
He urged members of the governing boards of the four state-owned media and all their members of staff, particularly editors and reporters, to be guided in their work by Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution.
 Mr Blay-Amihere urged the state-owned media to hold governments accountable to the people of Ghana in the discharge of their duties.
Despite the perception that the state-owned media were the mouthpiece of governments, he said, the Constitution guaranteed the freedom and independence of all media, including those owned by the state.
 Mr Ashigbey, on behalf of the former board of directors, said they were grateful for the opportunity given them by the NMC to serve the country.
He urged the incoming board to continue the good work started by the immediate past board.
On behalf of the new Board Chairperson, Mr Assorow stressed the need for co-operation between the management and the board to ensure smooth operations in the company, adding that “management should support us to work together”.
He called for teamwork to ensure that objectivity, integrity and efficient services were rendered to the good people of Ghana.