Journalists from The Fourth Estate, the investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), have withdrawn from this year’s Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards, stating that they cannot “in good conscience” accept prizes sponsored by KGL Technology Limited — a company at the centre of their recent investigative reporting.
In a statement released on Friday, MFWA said its journalists, who were shortlisted as finalists in multiple award categories, will not be attending the GJA/KGL Media Awards ceremony.
The organisation cited ethical concerns over what it described as an attempt by the GJA to “whitewash” damaging revelations published by The Fourth Estate about a controversial deal between the National Lottery Authority (NLA) and KGL Technology.
Over the past several months, The Fourth Estate has published a series of investigative reports exposing how a licence granted to KGL by a past NLA leadership effectively handed over the authority’s most profitable operations to the private company.
The investigation revealed that while KGL generated more than GHC3 billion in revenue from NLA operations, it was required to pay just GHC156.7 million to the state.
The reporting further showed that the NLA, once a regular contributor to the Consolidated Fund, has made no contributions since 2022.
MFWA noted that its publication sparked public debate and prompted scrutiny in Parliament, where the current Director-General of the NLA, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, recently admitted that the state could have earned significantly more from such a deal.
The controversy deepened on October 9 when the GJA held a KGL-sponsored media engagement at the Alisa Hotel in Accra — just days after The Fourth Estate published its lead exposé.
At the event, KGL’s Executive Chairman, Alex Appau Dadey, openly criticised The Fourth Estate’s work, calling it “irresponsible and sensational journalism”. The GJA, according to MFWA, neither condemned nor corrected the attack.
“This year’s GJA awards have even been rebranded the ‘GJA/KGL Media Awards,’ ostensibly to reflect the extraordinary financial commitment of KGL,” the MFWA statement added.
“We struggle to recall any time in the recent past when the GJA has had to co-share the title of the awards with a corporate sponsor.”
MFWA said that by accepting an award underwritten by KGL, The Fourth Estate would “risk compromising [its] conscience” and potentially benefit from the very funds it considers to be the outcome of a “state-fleecing” deal.
“While we cherish any recognition for our work, we will not do so at the risk of betraying the public-interest values we stand for,” the statement said.
The Fourth Estate congratulated other journalists and media houses participating in this year’s awards but affirmed that its team would not attend the awards ceremony at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
The GJA has yet to respond publicly to the concerns raised.
