Government partners with Deutsche Welle to boost media quality in Ghana

The Minister of Information designate, Fatimatu Abubakar, has announced that media outlets will be supported for producing high-quality content.

She made this announcement when she hosted a team from Deutsche Welle (DW) Akademie, a German leading organization for international media development, in Accra to discuss issues of importance to the country’s media development.

The Minister-designate stated that, as part of attempts to assist media outlets in obtaining bursary assistance for their work, her organization initiated a three-year process to have the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) establish an office in the country.

“In the next month, we will conduct an official opening of the IFPIM Ghana Office,” she said.

She acknowledged the economic challenges being encountered by the media in recent times and said the support from the organisation would boost the work of journalists, especially as the nation prepared for this year’s general election.

As part of the host nation agreement, she said the government would also extend diplomatic courtesies to enable the organisation to operate freely in the country.

She commended DW for being in the Ghanaian media landscape and supporting its development over the years.

The Minister-designate stated that the country has over 700 registered radio stations, 550 of which are active, as well as over 100 active television stations on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) systems.

“Generally, there is a lot of conflict in the media space. The media houses really need some help,” she stated.

Fatimatu Abubakar called for more support, especially in capacity training and other activities of the media to enhance the quality of work, adding, “The government would be excited to be partners.”

She stated that the government has implemented three essential projects to promote national peace media capacity building: a coordinated framework for journalist safety and a campaign against misinformation and disinformation.

On her part, the leader of the DW team, Natascha Schwanke, said the visit was to deepen collaboration between the organisation and the Information Ministry as DW was into media growth.

She said DW, since 2013, has focused its attention on media development in Ghana.