Erastus wins GJA Journalist of the Year: He was recognised for exposing galamsey rot

Kumasi-based journalist of the Multimedia Group, Erastus Asare Donkor had been crowned the P.A.V. Ansah GJA Journalist of the Year 2022.

At the 27th GJA awards in Accra on Sunday night, he was recognised for the tremendous work he did in exposing the illegal mining (galamsey) rot in the country.

Apart from clinching the topmost award, Mr Asare Donkor also won the Best reporter in illegal mining.

The event was on the theme: “Leveraging media freedom to sustain the democratic and security architecture: The litmus test of Election 2024”.

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Mr Asare Donkor’s documentary titled: Destruction for Gold, which aired on JoyNews within the year under review, did the trick .

In the documentary, the journalist , who has carved a niche for himself for exposing the galamsey rot, brought to the fore, the greed and some characters behind the massive destruction of the environment.

Encouragement

In his remarks after his award, Mr Asare Donkor gave thanks to God for bringing him that far.

He also paid tribute to his crew that braved the storm to cover the destruction caused by galamsey.

“I stand here deeply honored for this award,” he stated .

He said for far too long, “we have witnessed the harsh reality of illegal mining” and added that journalists have a big role to play in checking the menace .

He also implored the government to take a hard stance against illegal mining .

Personalities

This year’s event was presided over by the chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev Dr Ernest Adu Gyamfi, while Jean Mensa, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, delivering the keynote address.

There was also an address by the Minister of Information, Kojo Opong Nkrumah.

In attendance were the chairman of the National Media Commission, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, and the US ambassador to Ghana, Virginia E. Palmer.