The General Manager of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Dr Bernard Otabil, has signaled a radical shift of the nation’s wire service towards extensive coverage of rural development issues.

He said in line with this, the agency would soon introduce a “New Media Partnership for Accelerated Rural Development (NeMPARD) Project”.

Education, health and agriculture, he said, would form its main thrust to sustain the significant success achieved through the GNA/STAR-Ghana’s media auditing and tracking of development projects, an initiative, launched to put a spotlight on how government’s resources were helping to transform the lives of the people in difficult-to-reach communities.

Dr Otabil dropped the hint at an impact assessment meeting held with the staff of its Ashanti Regional Office in Kumasi.

The GNA/STAR-Ghana project is being piloted in six districts in the Ashanti and the Eastern Regions and would end in November.

The need for its sustainability has been informed by the huge positive impact it has had in the pilot communities by way of the proactive responses attracted from stakeholders and relevant authorities.

Dr Otabil underlined the agency’s resolve to rebrand and focus more efforts on its core mandate, to highlight problems facing the people and drive national development.

To do this, it would have to do more to promote transparency, accountability and good governance.

He encouraged the workers to continue working with commitment, passion and zeal to be part of the agency’s new vision.