GNA is sitting on a gold mine – Otabil

Bernard Abraham Otabil, General Manager of Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed on Thursday that the Agency is sitting on a gold mine, which is likely to define its very future.

He said there was therefore the need for the staff to work hard to ensure that GNA reclaimed its past glory of being the number one wire service in West Africa.

Mr Otabil who assumed office as CEO on March 1, 2013 made the statement when he met staff of the Central regional office of the GNA in Cape Coast as part of his familiarisation tour of the regional and district offices of the Agency nationwide.

He said in order for the Agency to achieve the feat, there was the need for it to be rebranded and repositioned in order to adjust to the fast changing world of Information and Communication Technology. Mr Otabil admonished the personnel to improve upon the quality of stories they produce, warning that he would not compromise on editorial quality.

He expressed concern that some workers of GNA were not proactive and lacked the right attitude to work, knowing very well that their monthly salaries were guaranteed at the end of the month.

He described this attitude as very wrong and warned those involved to put a stop to it and work hard for the development of the Agency and the nation as a whole.

Mr Otabil said frequent in-house training sessions would be held for the editorial staff to help sharpen their skills in the profession. He urged the journalists to be innovative and to come up with stories that would hit the headlines and hold the interest of readers.

Mr Otabil presented two laptop computers and a book on “Ghana’s Superbrands” to the office.