MFWA builds media capacity to address illicit financial flows in Ghana

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) with the support from OXFAM Ghana has built the capacity of selected media practitioners to support ongoing efforts aimed at addressing Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Ghana.

The journalists were equipped with the capacity to monitor and report illicit financial flows, while supporting government’s efforts in the fight against the menace.

The two-day capacity building for financial, economic and business journalists, on the legal, regulatory framework and policy responses to reducing IFFs in Ghana, which took place from December 6-7th, 2022, was on the theme “Combatting Illicit Financial Flows in Ghana: The Role of the Media and Other Stakeholders”.

Policy Analyst at ISODEC, Bernard Anaba, in an interview after the training, observed that IFFs are a major problem for Africa particularly Ghana because it encourages capital flow from the continent leaving individual countries cash trapped.

He added that Illicit financial outflows reduce tax collection, drain hard currency reserves, heighten inflation, cancel investment, undermine trade, worsen poverty, and widen income gaps of developing countries.

The illicit financial flow cycle prevents states and citizens from effectively supporting their own development because they are unable to save thereby relying on expensive international loans” he stressed.

Unfortunately, he added, governments are not living up to expectation to curb the anomaly.

According to the Director for Research and Advocacy at MFWA, Dr. Kojo Impraim, the training was imperative because the media must have interest in what is at stake so they can support the government to the fight the illicit activities of IFFs.

The media’s capacity needed to be built to enable them to monitor and scrutinize data to be able to determine anomalies and follow same” he stressed.

The journalists were drawn from the print, television, radio, and online media.

The training focused on the challenges with curbing illicit financial flows at the international and local levels, media coverage on how illicit financial flows drain the economy, the context and broad categories of illicit financial flows, and experiences from the Ghana’s petroleum sector, the political economy of IFFs in Ghana and Data collection, analysis, tracking and reporting of IFFs and policy influence by journalists.

As part of the project, the MFWA on December 15, 2022 will organize a major public forum to discuss the role of the media in combatting IFFs in Ghana. The forum will bring together the media, civil society organizations, academia, relevant state institutions and the security agencies to deliberate on the matter and seek recommendations on ways in which the media can better promote efforts at combating IFFs in the country.