The management of Media General has presented a cheque of $10,000 to the 2023 BBC Komla Dumor Award winner Paa Kwesi Asare for his dedication and hard work.
At a short ceremony on TV3‘ news programme News 360 on Monday, August 21 a member of the Board of Directors, Norkor Duah announced the surprise package.
"You brought honour to this company and to Ghana, to have won this award is just by God’s grace.
“For seven years you have grown into the sort of person who deserves to be given this award, congratulations. We know with your period with BBC you are going to shine, the sky is your limit.”
After receiving the cheque, Paa Kwesi Asare said “I also want to say a big thank you for reposing so much confidence in me.”
Paa Kwesi Asare, 36, is the eighth recipient of the award and the first to come from Ghana, like the late Komla Dumor.
As part of the award, Paa Kwesi will spend three months working with BBC News teams in London across television, radio, and online. He will be given the opportunity to further develop his journalism skills through training, workshops, and mentoring with leading BBC journalists.
The award was created in 2015 to honour the memory of Komla Dumor, a presenter for BBC World News who was known for his commitment to reporting African stories comprehensively and authentically.
Asare is currently the head of business news at Ghana's private TV3 channel, where he has worked for seven years as one of its main news anchors.
The award was created to honour Komla Dumor, a presenter for BBC World News, who died suddenly aged 41 in 2014.
He had worked tirelessly to bring a more nuanced African narrative to the world, representing a confident, savvy and entrepreneurial side of Africa.