Accra, March 4, GNA - A two-day budgetary clinic for private print media practitioners aimed at strengthening public accountability through improved media understanding of the budget process opened in Accra on Tuesday. The budgetary clinic was organized by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the World Bank in collaboration with KAB Governance Consult.

Issues discussed at the clinic included the Budgetary Process and Economic Policy Formulation, Role of Parliament in the Budgetary Process, Introduction to Macro Economic Indicators and an Overview of the 2008 Budget.

In his opening remarks, the General Secretary of the GJA, Mr Bright Blewu, said the purpose of the clinic was to re-emphasize the need for journalists in the print media to understand the budget and the processes it went through.

"It is only when we understand the issues that we can adequately monitor, and write about them to ensure accountability." Mr Blewu also added that it was necessary for all journalists to have in-depth knowledge about the budgetary processes in Ghana. He advised participants of the budgetary clinic to be serious with what they were going to learn. "Take this clinic seriously in order to report comprehensively during this period when the country is experiencing obvious signs of growth," he said. 4 March 08