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In a bid to promote greater transparency in the governance of the country’s oil, gas and mining resources, Penplusbytes, in partnership with Revenue Watch Institute is currently holding a seven-day training course for nine Ghanaian Journalists at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Accra.
The participating media houses are: The Chronicle, Public Agenda, Independent, Daily Graphic, Ghana News Agency, Gurune Style FM and Myjoyonline.com.
The training is part of an ongoing project which is being executed under the theme: “Empowering the Media to Play Active Watchdog Role over Oil and Gas Revenue and Resources.”
The one week training, which started on Monday November 25th, 2013, and ends on December 2nd, 2013, aims at promoting good governance as well as effective oversight of Ghana’s extractive resources and revenues by the Ghanaian media.
It further seeks to increase the quantity and quality of coverage of extractive-related issues in the print and electronic media landscape.
The training is designed to introduce practicing journalists to current key issues surrounding the extractive sector in order to help them develop the knowledge and skills to stimulate public discussions on how best to ensure that proceeds from the sector are used in the interests of the country and its citizens.
The training also includes a two- day field trip which will provide the journalists with first-hand information and a better understanding of the extractive sector to enable them better inform and educate the public.
Welcoming participants to the training, President of Penplusbytes, Mr. Kwami Ahiabenu II, stated: “this learning opportunity will not only build the capacity of the journalists, but also bring journalists and CSOs together, for a concerted effort towards advocacy, networking and partnership building in their quest to promote transparency and accountability in Ghana’s oil and gas revenue and resources”.
Mr. Ahiabenu II held the view that without informed and responsive media providing oversight of the revenues from the extractive industries, governance weakness and corruption rises. The training, he said, was a follow up to an initial training held in Tanzania earlier this year.
Penplusbytes was established in 2001 and seeks to empower the media through the use of ICTs to advance the course of journalism in three areas: governance and accountability, new media and innovations and oil, gas.
Source: Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh/ Ghanaian Chronicle
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