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The outspoken minister for information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has revealed that the NPP government is committed to providing scholarships to about 250 journalists in 2022 to enhance their capacity in the media industry.
According to Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi constituency in the eastern region, the decision of the ministry to support this call is to make journalism more proffessional and address pertinent issues in the 4th arm of government.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of maiden Media Enhancement program at Manhyia Palace in the Ashanti region under the theme; “Equipping the media to play an effective role in our nation building”, Hon. kojo Oppong Nkrumah acknowledged that without the media, the citizenry would not be abreast with the developments in the nation and their grievances may take long before getting government’s attention.
“We, at the Ministry of Information, believe that addressing the capacity challenges faced by the media in this comprehensive, coordinated and regular manner will yield more dividend than the occasional support given by stakeholders as individuals especially around election seasons. Without the media, it is difficult for the state to inform its citizens of developments in the realm and for citizens to feedback to the state what their priorities may be.” – Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
He added that the program has become necessary after the ministry’s engagement with the industry players, two major needs came up for attention at the end of the engagements. i.e.
- The need to support stakeholders in the industry to regularly train practicing journalists so their capacity is enhanced in the area of ethics, professionalism, media law, impact journalism, use of digital tools and investigative journalism.
- The need to support a co-ordinated mechanism for the safety of journalists.
The all important program for the media was launched in October and opens today at Kumasi has the following stakeholders with Professor Kwansa-Aidoo, rector if GIJ as chairman of the working committee;
- The National Media Commission
- The Ghana Journalists Association
- The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association
- The Private Newspaper Publishers Association (Prinpag)
- The Institute of Professional Studies, and
- The Communication Educators Association of Ghana
- Civil Society Groups in Media
- Selected leading journalists and media houses
He emphatically made it known that the training and all its aspects are being done by independent group of stakeholders.
“As I mentioned earlier the needs assessment, curriculum development, administration of training is all being done by this independent group of industry stakeholders. Our Commitment as a Government is to provide scholarships for 250 beneficiaries who will be selected by the committee to participate in the program for the year 2022.” – Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah stated.
He concluded by expressing his utmost gratitude to the overlord of Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuor Osei Tutu for permitting and gracing the occasion at Manhyia Palace.
