MEDIA, CSOs CREDITED WITH SUCCESS IN GALAMSEY FIGHT, REFERENDA

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Successes in government’s priority programmes of stopping illegal mining commonly known as ‘Galamsey’ and the Referenda for the creation of six additional political regions in Ghana have been credited mainly to an effective collaboration and involvement of the media and civil society groups, CSOs. 

The media-CSOs’ closer partnership in the two national programmes led to greater public awareness creation, appreciation of the key issues, ownership as well as active participation during the implementation periods. 

These were the observations made by both participants and facilitators at a day’s capacity building workshop for selected journalists from the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions constituting Zone Four of the zonal media training towards actualization of certain state programmes. 

The event on the theme: “Enhanced Media-CSOs Partnership for Inclusive Local Governance” is part of a joint project by the Ghana Journalists Association, GJA and STAR-Ghana. The participants evaluated the fight against ‘Galamsey’, campaign for the enactment of the Right to Information law and the Referenda towards creation of the proposed six new regions and also strategized on how to deepen the collaboration among the media and CSOs to push the plan for election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives this year as outlined by the government. 

The National Organizer of the GJA, Albert Dwumfuor, said the media have a responsibility to hold the government accountable in the management of the national resources such that issues of cost inflation for projects are stopped. The Media, the GJA Organizer stressed, must educate the masses on issues of national interest. Mr. Dwumfuor thanked STAR-Ghana for its support to the GJA to empower its members to live up to their core responsibilities. "We have to ensure that the grassroots are empowered...to hold their leaders accountable", Mr. Dwumfuor charged the media.

The Programmes Manager of STAR-Ghana, Kojo Impraim, who was also the main Resource Person, noted that even though the Referenda which constituted a major hurdle towards the creation of new regions has been successfully cleared, the media and CSOs still have a duty to the people to ensure that the government keeps to its other responsibilities of not only actualizing the programme, but importantly, making sure that the new regions take off without hitch or hindrance for the attainment of the goals for which the regions were created. Mr. Impraim reminded also the two partners of their duties to ensure that issues for the election of MMDCEs are well explained to the electorate to generate public interest and awareness for the exercise scheduled for the middle of this year.

The Project Officer in charge of the GJA-STAR-Ghana Project, Rebecca Ekpe, advised the media and CSOs to tighten their partnership in advancing matters of national interest towards an inclusive society while deepening grassroots participation in local governance.

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