Media Training Expands to Kumasi, Ghana

In the first year of RWI’s oil, gas and mining media training program, Revenue Watch and Ghana program partner Penplusbytes have focused mainly on journalists and media organizations working in the capital city, Accra.  On 23 November, Penplusbytes introduced the program to Ghana’s “second city,” Kumasi, in the gold-rich Ashanti region.

During a launch meeting with 23 regional editors, reporters and correspondents, Nana Yaw Osei, president of the Ashanti chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association, said the level of oil and gas reporting in the area is low. “The association is excited to have this unique opportunity to discuss and share ideas about how to improve on the quality and quantity of oil and gas reporting from the region,” he said.

In a keynote address, Emmanuel Kuyole, the RWI Africa regional coordinator, appealed to the journalists at the meeting to educate themselves on oil and gas issues. In doing so, he advised, they will learn to effectively “question government officials on some key revenue figures currently being published by the Ministry of Finance.”

Dr. Stephen Donyinah, a chemical and petroleum engineer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, explained some technical oil and gas issues that journalists must understand.

The launch included outreach visits to various Kumasi media houses so Penplusbytes could explain the objectives of RWI’s media training program to journalists based in central Ghana.