GIZ, SECO and GHEITI Build Capacity of Journalists on EITI Reports, Good Governance

FPSO Kwame Nkrumah

Peduase, Eastern Region, Ghana, March 4, 2019//-The institute of Financial & Economic Journalists (IFEJ) in partnership with GIZ, a German development agency; Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO); and Ghana’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) Secretariat has built the capacity of journalists on EITI reports.

The three-day workshop being the second since the beginning of the year was geared towards capacity building for IFEJ members and some selected senior journalists on good governance in the extractive sector of the country.

Taking the journalists through the EITI, Dr Steve Manteaw, the Co-chair of GHEITI noted: “Providing legislative backing to the transparency quest of the initiative, and insulating GNPC from political interference is what it will take to improve on Ghana’s EITI performance”.

“We owe this not to the EITI, but to ourselves, as part of our efforts at ensuring that we reap the full benefits of our hydrocarbon resources”.

He urged other experts and institutions in the industry to conduct a cost benefit analysis of the extractive activities to enable the country ascertain whether it is benefiting from the resources or not.

The Technical Lead and Accountability at Ghana’s Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth, Samuel Bekoe who spoke on the pilot Ghana EITI Commodity Trading Transparency Report, noted that without transparency in the pricing hosts of natural resources would be shortchanged.

Why transparency in trading?

He added that transparency in trading could reduce potential transfer mispricing in related party transactions, and improve transparency in in-kind receipts by national oil companies (NOCs).

Mr Bekoe also stated that transparency in trading reduces potential corruption and improper activities in first trades, and potentially earns both NOCs and trading partners’ reputational benefits.

On his part, the President of IFEJ, Rayborn Bulley said the collaboration between the GIZ and others also sought to deepen media coverage on resource governance issues and increase advocacy in the country.

African Eye Report

 

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