To enhance the knowledge of journalists and media practitioners in financial matters of the country, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has educated about twenty-five (25) journalists in the Central Region on the activities of the Central Bank.
The move is to also ensure accurate reporting on business and financial issues of the country and address the challenges posed by misinformation and disinformation.
The programme, organized in Winneba also forms part of the Bank’s broader stakeholder engagement to promote transparency and accountability.
This training however brings the number of media practitioners in the country that have benefited from the BoG financial training to a hundred and twenty-five (125).
According to the Director of Communications at the BoG, Mr Bernard Otabil, who addressed the media at the opening of the programme, “the media is an important stakeholder to the Bank because of the role it plays in enhancing the Bank’s work”.
”The primary objective of the Bank of Ghana is to pursue sound monetary policies aimed at price stability and creating an enabling environment for sustainable economic growth”, Mr Otabil underlined.
”Other objectives include promoting and maintaining a sound financial sector and payment systems through effective regulation and supervision as spelt out in the Bank of Ghana Act 2016 (Act 918), as amended”.
He further stated that to enhance the role of the central bank, there was the need for a vibrant and better-informed media; “a media landscape that understands not only the role of the central bank but also its role in promoting the work of the Bank and strengthening the macroeconomic environment”.
The capacity building, according to the BoG”s Director of Communications, “reflects the bank’s commitment to fostering a well-informed media landscape, particularly in the areas of monetary policy, macroeconomic analysis, and financial reporting”.
“The Bank recognizes that effective central bank communication plays a critical role in enhancing transparency, fostering public understanding, and bolstering credibility. We believe that if we are effective with our communication, we will instill confidence in our monetary policy decisions and anchor expectations”, he emphasized.
Mr Otabil explained that the stakeholder engagements had afforded the Bank the opportunity to formalise and establish a dedicated press corps, who had helped to propagate the Bank’s monetary policy decisions and activities to Ghanaians in the regions.
“Today, journalists in the regions receive information from the Bank in real time for publications, thereby enhancing the Bank’s accountability to the public”.
Topic treated during the two-day training workshop included; Accurate Reporting, Monetary Policy Practice in Ghana, Understanding Inflation dynamics in Ghana and Recent Developments in Foreign Exchange Market.
The rest were; Responsible Borrowing, Understanding central bank balance sheet and Non interest banking and finance.
