THERE WILL BE INK - Initiative for Policy Dialogue

industries, for instance, ought to bring in external resources and veteran foreign journalists familiarwith the issues.Training on the Extractive IndustriesAs previously discussed, the extractive industries present a wide range of challenges to journalists.Many journalists said that specialized training on how to cover the extractives would be the best wayto improve coverage of this sector. Notably, none of the more substantive training programs (IIJ,WBI, Reuters) cover the extractive industries in any depth. The three-month IIJ program, forexample, allots only two days to the subject. Thus there is a real and urgent need for a substantialextractive industries training program for Ghanaian journalists, particularly as Ghana’s nascent oilindustry develops. Veteran journalist Francis Kokutse said that "a major impediment to bettercoverage of the extractives is simply getting journalists interested in the industry," which anextractives training could accomplish. Kokutse said he was surprised that so few of his journalistcolleagues were interested in the West African Gas Pipeline Project, a major regional infrastructureinitiative.Non-Training Recommendations for GhanaAccess to InformationAll of the journalists interviewed for this project agreed that access to information is a majorobstacle to good reporting in Ghana, particularly on business and economic matters. As previouslyexplained, information is often hoarded by both the private sector and Ghanaian governmentagencies. Without improved access to information, Ghana’s media will have great difficulty in itsfurther development.Ghana’s 1992 constitution, which ushered in an era of democracy and rule of law after years ofrepressive government, guarantees a “Right to Information.” 224 However, this right to informationonly receives lip service from the government, and not the enforcement that it deserves under thelaw. Christian Okerlie, of the Ghana News Agency, said that while NGOs are ready to provideinformation and are very forthcoming, “the problem is with the government.” “If you want to crosscheckfacts with the government,” Okerlie said, “it becomes very difficult.”A Freedom of Information Act, based on similar laws in the United States and the United Kingdom,is currently pending within Ghana’s parliament. If passed, the new law will, according to itschampions, greatly improve the media’s access to government information, including budgets,royalty agreements with extractive companies, and national economic indicators. However, the Acthas been on the government’s docket for more than six years, and has yet to be brought to a vote inparliament. 225 Ghanaian civil society appears to have put its weight behind passage of the bill, withprominent organizations like the Media Foundation for West Africa advocating for its passage, butthe reluctant government has stalled the bill at every opportunity.224 “Public information belongs to the people: Give it out!,” Ghana News Agency, 14 April 2009:http://www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=8402&section=7.225 Prof Lungu, “Right to Information Bill & Politics in Ghana,” GhanaWeb, 9 October 2007:http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=130395.– 83 –