Takoradi: The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has introduced journalists to a media guide focused on enhancing reporting skills on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), progressive taxation, reserved-based lending, and domestic resource mobilisation. This initiative is designed to equip editors and journalists with essential knowledge to uncover and report on IFFs and related financial irregularities for nation-building.
According to Ghana News Agency, the media guide, launched on August 1, 2025, aims to raise awareness and facilitate the use of the guide among media practitioners. As part of this effort, the MFWA organised a sensitisation workshop in Takoradi for selected journalists from the Western Region. This workshop is a component of the 'Tax for Development: Strengthening Civil Society and Media for Fiscal Justice' project, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through OXFAM in Ghana.
Dr Bishop Akolgo, the Consultant for the Guide, highlighted during the workshop that the document offers step-by-step methods for journalists to identify and report on IFF stories using real-world case studies. He shared data indicating that IFFs from Africa are estimated to exceed $88.6 billion annually, with Ghana's IFFs primarily arising from extractive industries, trade, and tax evasion. Dr Akolgo emphasized that the funds lost to IFFs are critical for addressing major challenges in Ghana, such as education and health.
He further explained that weak tax systems, regulatory oversight, political corruption, and a lack of transparency, coupled with global demands for secrecy, are key drivers of IFFs. The Guide is designed to provide journalists with the necessary information to investigate hidden financial flows and hold individuals, governments, and multinational corporations accountable.
Madam Rosemond Ebi-Adwo Aryeetey, Senior Programmes Manager for Media for Democracy and Good Governance at MFWA, encouraged journalists to utilize the Guide to enhance their ability to focus on IFFs-related cases and report on them in the public interest. Mr Desmond Cudjoe, Western Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, praised MFWA and its partners for developing the Guide, noting that it would significantly enhance the investigative skills of journalists in areas of IFFs, progressive taxation, reserved-based lending, and domestic resource mobilisation.
