Andrew Edwin Arthur, PRINPAG President
The Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), on Friday, elected national executives to lead the Association for the next four years and to seek creative ways to make it more effective and relevant in the country.
The election saw the Managing Editor of the New Independent, Andrew Edwin Arthur, re-elected as the Association’s President, with Michael Antwi-Agyei, emerging as the Vice-President.
Emmanuel Opare-Djan was retained as National Organiser, while Jeorge Wilson Kingson was elected to the newly-created position of Public Affairs Officer.
The Swearing-in of the newly-elected Executives will come on by the close of August. Chairman of the Elections Committee, Ben Assorow commended PRINPAG members for the successful exercise and urged the leadership to appoint an acting Treasurer until a substantive one is elected.
Appreciation
President-elect Edwin Arthur thanked all members for their enthusiasm and overwhelming support at the polls. He reiterated his commitment to the development of the Association and assured the members that he will continue the PRINPAG AGENDA of “Re-organisation, Re-branding and Re-tooling”.
“On my assumption of office as the President in 2019, it was trite knowledge to us all that the Association did not have an office and it took me to solicit for support single-handedly, and managed to provide the current office premises for the Association. But beyond the renting of office space for the Association, I am looking at the bigger picture of the Association owning its own office complex,” he said.
Speaking with the Daily Statesman, he disclosed that he is making arrangements with the Lands Commission for the Association to have its own land.
“As a prelude to that desire, I am in the process of renewing talks with the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, which has made a commitment to support us in that regard,” he added.
He recounted how he rallied all executives and members of the Association to ensure that the Association had a Constitution and the building of a credible database, not only for publishers and online news portal owners but also for all those who work with them.
“This, I view as important for planning purposes and has gone a long way to enable the Executive Committee and the PRINPAG Secretariat to have a holistic, clear and complete picture of all our members countrywide,” he said.
He emphasised that the database had ensured that no media practitioner, working with any PRINPAG member, was left out of its training programmes.
Dev’t agenda
Mr Edwin Arthur gave the assurance that he will continue to work hard to enhance the business promotion of newspapers and online news portals in the country.
“In view of my burning desire to also look for ways of improving the business aspects of our various establishments, I also single-handedly initiated discussions with the CEO of COA-GPM, who has agreed to sign an MOU with the Association, which partnership arrangement will benefit all members without discrimination,” he said.
The President-elect also vowed to focus on securing scholarships and fellowship programmes for members to build their professional capacity and to also enhance their knowledge.
“It is also my desire to see the Association is built on professional lines than on partisanship that always creates a wedge between us and divides our ranks. I know this is going to be a difficult task but I know that we can collectively achieve it and make our Association stand out with our collective efforts,” he added.
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