The Board of Directors of the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) has appointed the Association’s Secretary General, Joey Kennedy, as Officer-In-Charge.
ALJA’s board decision comes following the resignation of its National President and Vice President.
Pewee Baysah and his Vice president Kadiatu Brohiri resigned their positions recently after accepting job offers from the Liberian government.
Mr. Baysah was appointed Executive Director at the National Port Authority (NPA) while Mrs. Brohiri is the Deputy Minister for Tourism at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT).
According to an ALJA press release issued on June 4, 2024, the ALJA’s National Board of Directors appointed Secretary-General Kennedy as OIC of the Association on June 1, 2024, during a meeting held by the executive leadership and Board of Directors.
Mr. Kennedy, along with Assistant Secretary-General Stanley McGill and Treasurer Lisa Willie, will work with the Board of Directors in administering the affairs of ALJA pending the conduct of by-elections to fill the vacant positions during its National Convention scheduled for October 2024 in the City of Philadelphia.
Baysah and Brohiri were respectively elected in October 2023 at the last ALJA convention held in Minnesota for a two-year term, but served the organization for less than six months.
Moreover, it is reported that Baysah has failed to provide turn-over notes or status report regarding the organization’s finances and projects undertaken by his administration despite numerous requests by the Board of Directors.
Since ALJA’s resuscitation in 2014 following 10 years of dormancy as a result of internal strife, Baysah and Brohiri are the only former officials to have created such unprecedented vacuum in the organization’s leadership.
ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501c (3) non-profit organization.
The Association was founded in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building, and the fostering of good governance in Liberia through media advocacy.
The Association is the most vibrant, outspoken, and cohesive diaspora based Liberian organization.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of ALJA, Seboe Maparyan, has notified the elections commission of the organization headed by Rev. Suah Deddeh of the vacancies and has mandated the commission to conduct By-elections to fill the vacancies.
