The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) in collaboration with the Global Financial Integrity (GFI) have organised a one day intensive training on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) for investigative Journalists from Ghana and other West African Countries.
Some Nigerian journalists participated in the training via Zoom. Other Journalists from Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso registered to join in, but for one reason or the other, they could not connect.
The workshop was meant to equip the investigative journalists with the requisite skills, techniques and legal safeguards to expose Illicit Financial Flows within and outside their country of abode.
The journalists were taken through topics including, Introduction to IFFs, Legal Considerations in reporting IFFs, Investigative Techniques and analysis of real -word case studies to understand successful investigative approaches.
The training was held on the theme, “Empowering Investigative Journalists to Expose Illicit Financial Flows: Tool, Techniques and Legal Safeguards.”
In her opening remarks, a Policy Analyst In-Charge of Illicit Financial Flows at ISODEC, Mrs. Charlotte Kpogli-Dzadey, commended GFI for sponsoring such initiative that seeks to build the capacities of Journalists within and outside Ghana to enable them dig deeper into issues relative to IFFs.
Mrs. Dzadey noted that billions of dollars have been leaving the African continent as a result of Illicit Financial Flows, a situation she described as unpleasant to the economic growth of the continent.
According to her, several sectors of the economy are fraught with IFFs vulnerabilities, and thus, concerted efforts are needed to nib this in the bud.
Mr, Maxwell Kpebesaan Kuu-ire, Policy Analyst at GFI, stressed the importance of integrity in journalism, especially as society’s last line of defense when things go wrong.
Journalists, he mentioned, are entrusted with bringing out the truth in a neutral and objective way,which is crucial in today’s world where misinformation and manipulation are prevalent.
Mr Kuu-ire said the idea that journalists are “pencils for the truth,” highlights their unique responsibility to investigate, report, and ultimately shape public understanding and policy through their work.
He added ,“As journalists, you are pencils for the truth. And you do your work so diligently that it is only you who can tell us what is right from wrong and be neutral.
“From GFI’s end, we value partnership. We value truth. And our name involves integrity. And we value integrity. You are the torch bearers of society’s integrity. There is so much that Illicit Financial Flows is ravaging our continent. If you turn around in Ghana, you will see semblance of it in illegal mining. That is if you dig deep, you will actually see it.”
He expressed appreciation for the work of journalists while also challenging them to continue digging deeper and making a meaningful impact.
The workshop was facilitated by Ms Adubea Jennifer Hall, a Lawyer and Law Lecturer at the University of Ghana Law School and Mr. Emmanuel Dogbevi, an Investigative Journalist and Editor of Ghana Business New website.
While participants extoled the organizers for the workshop, they requested GFI and like-minded donor entities to make more funds available to ISODEC to enable it to put together more of such trainings.
Mr. Masawudu Ankilu Kunateh, Editor of the Africaneyeport website, one of the participants noted, “This training is good for me and my colleagues. This is an area some of us aren’t too familiar with, but this training has offered me some skills and techniques to enable me to deliver.”
By: Mohammed Suleman/ Publicagenda.news
