Tanoso (Ash), Aug 20, GNA- Prayers, hard work and discipline are the key to the development of every nation, the Rev Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, Asante Presbytery Chairman of the Presbyterian Church, has said.

"For every nation to develop socially, economically and politically, that country must enjoy peace", he said. Rev Dr Frimpong-Manso was speaking at the close of a four-day conference organised by the Asante Presbytery at the Yaa Asantewaa Secondary School at Tanoso near Kumasi.

Over 300 delegates attended the conference from the 31 districts under the Asante Presbytery. The theme was: "The Key of The Kingdom of Heaven".

He said God has given every Christian the key to overcome difficulties through prayers and expressed regret that due to sin, poverty, sickness and oppression have engulfed many people. Rev Dr Frimpong-Manso asked Christians to continue to pray for the nation so that the democratic dispensation will be sustained.

Owusu Addo to develop mental faculty of Ghanaian journalists Kumasi, Aug 20, GNA- Mr Yaw Owusu Addo, one of the two presidential candidates in the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) elections, says his main focus is work towards the development of the "mental faculty" of the Ghanaian journalist, if elected.

"My vision is to make journalists the centre of attraction and raise their professional image like other professions in the country," he told journalists at the Kumasi office of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday as part of his tour of the Ashanti region.

Mr Owusu Addo said GJA would collaborate with tertiary and other professional training institutions, both local and international, to offer training courses to Ghanaian journalists and upgrade their skills.

He said private newspaper publishers would be encouraged to form distribution companies to sell their papers throughout the country and also offer courier services to support their activities, while radio stations would also be advised to form one subsidiary company for the supply of news items.

Alhaji Chodi said Mr Owusu Addo was working with men of vision to enable him achieve the goals he had set for the GJA and urged members to vote massively for him.

Owusu Addo urges journalist to exercise self-regulation Sunyani, Aug. 20, GNA- Mr Yaw Owusu Addo, an aspirant for the presidency of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) on his campaign trail in Sunyani, has urged journalists to exercise self-regulation by insisting on the ethics of the profession.

Addressing a meeting with members of the Brong Ahafo regional branch of the GJA, he said: "we have allowed ourselves to be hijacked by imposters, who do not have any knowledge about the ethics of the profession".

"It is time to make the profession respectable as other professions and halt the nefarious activities of such people who have continued to drag the name of journalists in the mud".

Mr Addo, Director of Radio of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and out-going Vice President of GJA, is contesting the presidency with Mr Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh, Editor of 'Daily Graphic'. The elections come off on Thursday, August 21.

Mr Addo said modern world demands effective reporting that would need further training for journalists to become more knowledgeable and offer well-informed opinions.

He said when voted into power, he would work towards the opening of a new faculty in journalism at the university level where sandwich programmes could be run for practicing journalists.

Mr Addo appealed to journalists to give his team the mandate "because I was with the old team that set standards and we are going to continue till we achieve the vision.".