GJA To Strengthen Business Advocacy

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is to undertake a programme of action aimed at using the media to promote businesses in the country. The move forms part of a strategy to get the media to proactively support the development of the private sector and increase coverage of the business and financial sector in Ghana. This is in line with the GJA’s efforts at promoting specialisation in journalism and strengthening coverage in all important sectors other than politics. Ghanaian journalists have often come under intense criticism for over focusing on political issues to the neglect of economic reporting. The 12-month programme, "using the Media to Strengthen Business Advocacy" is to be launched on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at the Ghana International Press Centre by Mr Tony Oteng Gyasi, President of the Association of Ghana Industries. The programme is being funded with GH¢ 509,392 from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund. It is in pursuance of its objectives to strengthen the culture for the business component of the Business Sector Programme Support (BSPS) funded by the Danish Aid Agency, (DANIDA). The support is the highest to be devoted to a single action by the Fund since its inception and follows a successful 12-month action programme carried out in 2006 by the GJA on "using the Media to promote the concerns of small and medium scale enterprises". It is part of the strategy by the AGI to encourage specialisation and get the media to contribute to poverty eradication in the society. The project has KAB Governance Consult as facilitators and the ultimate goal is to make policy makers more responsive to the concerns and challenges of entrepreneurs/private sector and thereby help accelerate the pace of economic development. The programme consists of various interventions to develop the capacity of a core team of journalists in business advocacy, create a multimedia platform to discuss the concerns of business, sensitize leadership of business groups and entrepreneurs to the importance of advocacy in business and promote dialogue between policy makers and business operatives with the view to addressing the concerns of business.