Africa-Press – Ghana. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has held a two-day comprehensive training workshop for 25 journalists in the Central Region to enhance their financial/economic reporting capacity.
The training was a significant step to mitigate misinformation and disinformation in the media and promote transparency and accountability in the Central Bank’s activities,including providing orientation on its primary role, objectives and decision-making processes.
Experts from the BOG trained the journalists on accurate reporting, Monetary Policy in Ghana, the dynamics of inflation and the Foreign Exchange market.
Participants were also taken through responsible borrowing, the Central Bank’s Balance Sheet, and Non-Interest Banking and Finance, known globally as Islamic Banking.
Already, the BoG had provided similar training in the Volta, Western, Ashanti, and Eastern regions, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 125.
Mr Bernard Otabil, the Director of Communication at the Bank, acknowledged the role and power of the media, highlighting the devastating challenges posed by misinformation and disinformation.
He said the Central Bank had embarked on the regional media engagements to strengthen its relations with journalists for accurate reporting.
“This initiative reflects our unwavering commitment to fostering a well-informed media landscape, particularly in the areas of monetary policy, macroeconomic analysis, and financial reporting,” he said.
Mr Otabil explained the primary objective of BoG, which was to ensure general price stability and create an enabling environment for sustainable economic growth, thus the need for a well informed media to ensure accurate reportage.
“The Bank recognises that effective central bank communication plays a critical role in enhancing transparency, fostering public understanding, and bolstering credibility,” he said.
“We believe that if we are effective with our communication, we will instil confidence in our monetary policy decisions and anchor expectations.”
He appealed to the media to exhibit utmost professionalism in matters concerning the economy and the Central Bank, urging journalists to choose accuracy over speed and sensationalism.
Mr Otabil encouraged journalists to verify facts and seek proper clarifications from the appropriate authorities before informing the public.
He touted some innovations introduced by Dr Johnson Asiama, the Governor of the Central Bank, including engagement with the media ahead of every Monetary Policy Committee meeting, and the publication of its submissions.
“Since the Bank adopted the inflation-targeting monetary policy framework in 2007, this is the first time such submissions have been done, bringing Ghana at par with other central banks using the inflation-targeting framework,” he said.
Mr Kingsley Nana Buadu, the Central Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), placed emphasis on the need for professionalism and ethical standards in the media.
He acknowledged the media lapses, some of which he attributed to a genuine lack of understanding and adequate knowledge in the subject area due to the technicalities.
He, therefore, entreated the participants to take the training seriously to communicate accurately and effectively to their audiences to achieve the desired outcomes.
Mr Buadu urged journalists to specialise in financial reporting, blue economy, environment and climate change, health, and education, among other areas to make real impact on the society.
He expressed appreciation to the Central Bank for the training and urged stronger collaboration with the media in the region.
Some participants expressed gratitude for the exposure and promised to leverage same to enhance their work.
For More News And Analysis About Ghana Follow Africa-Press
