MFWA promotes District Assembly

Dignitaries at the programme (from L to R) Kojo Yankah, Prof. Kwame Karikari, Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, Dr. Esther Ofei Aboagye and Kwamena Ahwoi.
Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday May 26, 2011.
The lack of in-depth coverage by the media on issues concerning local governance at the district assemblies has received attention from the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) which has resolved to assist district assemblies to carry information to the local people.

As a result, the MFWA has designed a programme dubbed “Using radio to promote participatory and effective local governance” to offer the assemblies a platform to better engage the populace through the radio stations.

The project is aimed at building the capacity of selected journalists from community and rural radio stations across the country in local governance reporting by supporting the stations financially and technically to produce and broadcast programmes that would evoke grass root participation to bring about enhanced local governance.

At the formal launch of the project in Accra yesterday, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, a local governance expert said “We can use radio to address programmes that really affect local governance and not one that is dictated by news bulletins and news reviews from Accra and other major cities.”

He said there is so much that radio can do to change the political landscape at the local level and that if this is done; it could break the monotonous NDC/NPP syndrome.

Prof Ahwoi said over concentration of the media on the political aspect of decentralization has left a big chunk of decentralization business unexplored.

He said most Ghanaians are not interested in the undue politicization of all issues in the media yet the media has forced the public to accept political issues as the main agenda.

He said part of the problem associated with the media’s role in promoting local governance has been the lack of a broadcasting law that would define the actual roles of radio stations.

Kojo Yankah, President and Founder of the African University College of Communication (AUCC) who touched on the role of radio in promoting local governance, said the assemblies remain potential news sources for the media which should be harnessed.

He said it was wrong for radio stations to extend their broadcasts beyond their specified boundaries adding that it is the duty of the media to help bring about “a sense of community and articulation of the democratic process.”

He said the time had come for government to facilitate the establishment of more community radio stations and called on district assemblies to improve upon their relations with the media.

Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, a Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development urged DCEs to be business-oriented and design programmes that would bring investments to their respective districts.

Prof. Kwame Karikari, Executive Director of MFWA said the coverage given to the assemblies by radio stations is not encouraging and urged them to do more.

“Too many of the stations concentrate too much attention on the Castle, Parliament and High Courts. We want them to turn their attention to what is right on their door steps,” he said.

Dr. Esther Ofei Aboagye, Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies who chaired the launch said local governance should be demystified for the people through the use of radio.