THERE WILL BE INK - Initiative for Policy Dialogue

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Background 101Ghana is widely considered to be a hospitable place for non-profit organizations and developmentwork. With its most recent elections, which were successful, Ghana once again lived up to itsreputation of being one of the most stable and democratic countries in all of Africa. Ghana’s steadydemocratic consolidation has not only buoyed its reputation, but has also brought other dividends,including fueling its economic development. Interviewees said on several occasions that regionalbusinesses from across West Africa are starting to relocate their headquarters to Accra because ofGhana’s more stable political and economic situation. One journalist called this “a dividend ofdemocracy” and noted that the influx of regional businesses meant that good Ghanaian economicjournalism was now even more important. Another journalist said that even Nigerian banks arebeginning to relocate some of their operations to Ghana.Accra is also home to a sprawling new American embassy complex, which serves as the U.S.’sregional hub for West Africa (rather than supporting full embassies in countries like Guinea, the U.S.government is basing more staff in Accra).ExtractivesWhile agriculture dominates Ghana’s economy, extractives are also an important part of itseconomy. The recent discovery of oil in Ghana is one of the main reasons that it was chosen forstudy in this report. Because the discovery is recent, proponents of Ghana’s steady and sustainabledevelopment hope that it may be able to avoid some of the problems that have plagued, forexample, Nigeria. One of the problems to avoid – and a place where good journalism can be ofparticular importance – is the opacity of the contracts, deals and the industry in general.Ghana’s extractive industries’ sector is currently dominated by the mining of gold, diamond, bauxite,and manganese. According to the EITI’s profile of Ghana, gold represented 34 percent of thecountry’s exports (12 percent of GDP) from 2000 to 2003. 102 Indeed, until its independence fromthe British in 1957, Ghana was known as the Gold Coast for its rich gold stores. Ghana is currentlythe second largest producer of gold after South Africa. Ghana’s mining industry is dominated by themulti-national AngloGold Ashanti, the South African mining company Gold Fields Ltd and UnitedStates-based Newmont, all of which represent a large percentage of Ghana’s foreign directinvestment. 103Major oil deposits off Ghana’s Gold Coast were discovered in 2007. These deposits have beenestimated at between 1 and 3 billion barrels of oil. 104 Ghana is expected to reach an output of120,000 barrels a day by 2010, and 200,000 barrels a day by 2013, which could make Ghana theseventh largest oil producer in the world. 105 Oxfam America estimates that “depending on oil pricesand future production levels, Ghana could soon see more than $1 billion added to government101 Photo on previous page: Seneviratne, Isuru, photographer. “Yellow Beast.” Photograph. 2007. From: Flickr:isurusen’s photostream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/isurusen/2124495758/.102 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative website, Ghana profile: http://eitransparency.org/Ghana103 “Ghana: Mining Overview,” Mbendi Information Services website. Accessed 12 December 2008:http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/af/gh/p0005.htm#top.104 Chris Hufstader, “The Coming Oil Boom in Ghana,” Oxfam America website, 1 October 2008. Accessed 11December 2008: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/where_we_work/west_africa/news_publications/thecoming-oil-boom-in-ghana105 “Ghana consults stakeholders on managing oil,” Ghana Update, Spring 2008, The Whitaker Group. Accessed 13December 2008: www.thewhitakergroup.us/uploads/home/pdf/Ghana%20Update%20Spring%202008.pdf.– 36 –
evenues each year,” 106 which would far eclipse Ghana’s current revenues from mining. The majoroil companies involved in the planned extraction of these oil deposits include Irish-based TullowOil, British-firm Kosmos, and the American oil company Hess Corporation.Ghana has experienced political stability since 1992, when multi-democracy was re-establishedfollowing the introduction of a new constitution. This stability has encouraged foreign investmentinto Ghana. Ghana’s GDP per capita in 2005 stood at approximately $2,500, “roughly twice the percapita output of the poorest countries in West Africa.” 107 Ghana was accepted as an ExtractiveIndustries Transparency Initiative (EITI) candidate country on 27 September 2007. Ghana alsomaintains its own Ghana EITI 108 , to which mining company Newmont is a signatory. 109TelecommunicationsGhana’s telecommunications statistics and data reveal a surprising lack of infrastructure given thecountry’s overall development. Approximately 43 percent of Ghana’s population has access toelectricity, 80 percent of which is consumed in urban areas. 110 Telephone usage is dominated by thecellular sector: 7.6 million Ghanaians had cell phones in 2007 compared to only 376,500 landlines inuse.Internet penetration in Ghana is surprisingly low. According to Eric Akumiah, Secretary of theInternet Society, a Ghanaian NGO, the Internet reaches a mere 2.7 percent of Ghana’s populationas compared to a penetration rate of 5.3 percent for Africa’s population as a whole. 111 The biggestfactor for Ghana’s low Internet usage rates seems to be the high cost of equipment, installation andmonthly subscription costs, which for broadband for a household can cost $200 a month, anexorbitant amount in Ghana.Literacy and EducationWith its large number of primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools, Ghanaians have relativelyeasy access to education. Government spending on education is also quite strong. Between 1997 and2007, government spending on education was between 28 percent and 40 percent of thegovernment’s annual budget. 112 During this time, primary school enrollment increased considerably,from 57 percent in 1999 to 90 percent in 2006. 113 According to UNICEF, total public expenditureson education accounted for 5.4 percent of Ghana’s GDP in 2005. 114By 2009, according to USAID, primary school net enrollment and completion rates “were expectedto reach 73 percent and 75 percent, respectively,” while the percentage of primary school children106 Ibid.107 “Ghana,” The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 4 December 2008. Accessed 13 December 2008:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html.108 See http://www.geiti.gov.gh.109 http://newmontghana.com/index.php?Itemid=40&id=69&option=com_content&task=view.110 Ghana Energy Foundation website: http://www.ghanaef.org/energyinghana/energyinghana.htm.111 Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, “Ghana’s low internet penetration, high cost and national growth,” Ghana Business News, 6December 2008: http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2008/12/06/ghanas-low-internet-penetration-high-cost-and-nationalgrowth/112 http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/education/113 USAID, “President's International Education Initiative Expanded Education for the World's Poorest Children:Ghana Fact Sheet,” September 24, 2007: http://www.usaid.gov/press/factsheets/2007/fs070924_3.html.114 UNICEF, Division of Policy and Practice, Statistics and Monitoring Section, www.childinfo.org, May 2008.– 37 –
Page 1 and 2: THEREWILLBE INKA study of journalis
Page 3 and 4: AcknowledgementsThis paper has bene
Page 7 and 8: Executive SummaryPurpose of the Rep
Page 9 and 10: journalists in these countries that
Page 11 and 12: Existing International Training Opp
Page 13 and 14: • Consumer Affairs and Informatio
Page 15 and 16: Background 3Of the three countries
Page 17 and 18: pervasive conflict in the Niger Del
Page 19 and 20: 3) Crises or disruptions, where som
Page 21 and 22: Low pay and low regardOne of the mo
Page 23 and 24: Even in cases where working journal
Page 25 and 26: But while some reporters think FOIB
Page 27 and 28: When asked how much the media could
Page 29 and 30: the effects of these challenges for
Page 31 and 32: detailed analysis of the opportunit
Page 33 and 34: journalist said he has, however,
Page 35 and 36: completely make use of some of the
Page 37 and 38: money. Their knowledge of what medi
Page 39 and 40: Notes on conducting research in Nig
Page 41: Ghana- 35 -
Page 45 and 46: entertainment news, scandals, and p
Page 47 and 48: The rise of business-focused journa
Page 49 and 50: coverage of the oil industry is als
Page 51 and 52: needed supplementary income to cash
Page 53 and 54: as supporting one political party o
Page 55 and 56: Numerous journalists recounted how
Page 57 and 58: Training programs available to busi
Page 59 and 60: Amos Safo, editor-in-chief at the p
Page 61 and 62: Notes on conducting research in Gha
Page 63 and 64: Background 136Literacy and Educatio
Page 65 and 66: “sufficient information” about
Page 67 and 68: or criminal charges for content the
Page 69 and 70: have such difficulty obtaining info
Page 71 and 72: The majority of those interviewed b
Page 73 and 74: commitment to their profession and
Page 75 and 76: Notes on Conducting Research in Uga
Page 77 and 78: Recommendations for Revenue Watch I
Page 79 and 80: people who have no journalism backg
Page 81 and 82: analyzes business,” he said, “e
Page 83 and 84: A journalist with The Punch said,
Page 85 and 86: The Media Foundation for West Afric
Page 87 and 88: Length of TrainingRoughly three-qua
Page 89 and 90: industries, for instance, ought to
Page 91 and 92: otherwise being published in the pr
Page 93 and 94:
Non-Training Recommendations for Ug
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Appendix A: NigeriaPotential Partne
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journalists. Biakolo is very profes
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Television Stations• Nigerian Tel
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have two to four month professional
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City: AccraTelephone: +233 (021) 22
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Fax: +256 414 255 495E-mail: umdf@a
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• What do you think are the most
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Appendix E: Survey Questions1. Name
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18. How effective were the teaching
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28. What are the most important cha
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1. Journalists by Country2. How wou
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5. How often do you travel out of t
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9. Which organization(s) sponsored
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12. After completing the training(s
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