Essikado, Sept. 1, GNA - Nana Kobina Nketsiah V, Omanhene of the Essikado traditional Council on Thursday said traditional rulers were the foundation upon which the development of the country revolves.

“The Executive, Legislature, Judiciary and the Media are all found on the “Land”, which epitomizes traditional rulers, and that their neglect or sidelining will not help the country’s development”.

Nana Nketsia V said this when some national executive members of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), together with some regional executives called on him at his palace at Essikado, in the Western Region.

The meeting with the paramount chief was to invite him to be the Guest Speaker of the upcoming GJA Awards Night, slated for September 9, 2011 at the Banquet Hall in Accra under the theme: “Given Impetus to Democracy and Development, the Role of Investigative Journalism”.

Other Prominent citizens, who would grace the annual event are Vice President John Mahama and Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman of the University of Cape Coast.

Nana Nketsiah said practitioners in the media industry must chart the course of development by reflecting on “where we are as a nation on the road to development”.

Mr Bright Blewu, General Secretary of GJA noted that the award night offers an opportunity to reflect on past activities in the media industry as well as the future.

He noted that the Paramount chief was an embodiment of both traditional and intellectual knowledge, beside his good relationship with the media.

Mr Blewu reiterated that the media formed a critical component for national development despite the occasional slips by practitioners.