Accra, Aug 10, GNA - The Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) and Voltic Ghana Limited (VGL) on Monday, donated drinks and Voltic Water to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in support of the association's 14th Awards ceremony slated for Saturday August 15. This year's award ceremony will also mark the 60th anniversary of the Association.

Presenting the items at a ceremony in Accra, Mr Greg Metcalf, Managing Director of ABL, said the companies, both of which were subsidiaries of SABMiller, were committed towards fashioning out a corporate investment policy to help showcase Ghana's democracy and good governance practice to the rest of Africa. He said democracy flourished in a country where the rule of law, transparency and accountability were upheld by a free, fair and vibrant media.

Mr Metcalf urged journalists to be guided by the core values and ethics of the profession to improve the socio-economic situation in the country.

"This presentation is a token of the company's appreciation of the contributions of the GJA and the Ghanaian media as a whole towards development in the country. We salute the Ghanaian media," he said. Receiving the items, Mr Ransford Tetteh, President of the GJA, thanked managements of ABL and VGL for their support over the years towards the growth of media.

He said the contributions made by the media towards promoting the practice of good governance and rule of law had lifted the image of corporate Ghana on the African continent in particular and the world in general. He expressed the hope that other institutions would imitate the ABL and VGL to sponsor other categories in the award scheme to promote high journalistic standards of practice. Items presented included cases of Club Premium Lager, Stone Strong Lager, Castle Milk Stout, Club Shandy Bosoe, Vitamalt Plus and boxes of Voltic Natural Mineral Water.

This year's awards ceremony, which coincides with the 60th Anniversary of the association, is expected to reward some 35 journalists for the various contributions made towards the socio-economic development of the country. Mr Bright Blewu, General Secretary of GJA, said besides the 35 awards from various categories this year, five others would receive honorary awards in recognition of their hard work and contributions to the media.