Economic and Financial Reporting Workshop opens

Takoradi, Aug. 23, GNA - A five-day workshop on improved economic and financial reporting for about 20 selected journalists and media practitioners from the Western, Central and Eastern Regions began at Takoradi on Monday.

The workshop, which is aimed at updating the knowledge and skills of participants is being organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development and KAB Governance Consult.

Topics to be discussed include challenges of investigative reporting, introduction to economic journalism, understanding monetary policies and challenges of revenue collection.

Opening the workshop, Mr Chris Amedor, an accountant of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority said the programme would enable participants to be abreast with current economics and financial trends in the country and globally.

He urged participants to take the workshop serious to enable them to analyse economic and financial issues efficiently.

Mr Bright Kwame Blewu, General Secretary of the GJA, said the workshop could enhance national development because it would enable journalists to properly link political issues to those of economics.

He noted that economic and financial issues that could help to prevent wrongdoing were not given prominence in the media except when there was a financial sandal or presentation of the national budget.

Mr Blewu noted that, this was as a result of the lack of specialised journalists to handle financial and economic issues. He said to address the issue; the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists had been making efforts to encourage specialization in these areas.

He said the programme had been organised for journalists and media practitioners in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions and commended the sponsors and collaborators for organising the workshops.

Mr Kwasi Afriyie Badu, Chief Executive Officer of KAB Governance Consult, said the workshops formed part of a nine-month training programme.

He said under the plan, 100 general reporters and heads of economic desks of media houses would be given the basic knowledge in economic and financial reporting.

Mr Frank Mochia, Western Regional chairman of the GJA, said it was only through such training that journalists could make economic and financial issues more meaningful to the people.