Accra, Sept. 25, GNA - Mr Kwame Pianim, an Economic Consultant and Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulations Commission (PURC), on Tuesday lauded the local media for helping to ensure good governance by often throwing "the merciless searchlight of the press" on public personalities.

"You help ensure transparency and accountability in the affairs of the state through your ability to throw the merciless searchlight of the press on the activities of public personalities in order to keep us on the straight and narrow path," he said.

Mr Pianim made the remark at the opening of the Second Daily Graphic Governance Dialogue organised by Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) to discuss good governance and its impact on regional integration, development and wealth creation in West Africa. The theme for the dialogue was: "Accelerating Regional Integration for Wealth Creation and Sustainable Development". Mr Pianim attributed the relative improvement in good governance, underpinned by a gradual shift towards the rule of law in member states of the sub-region, to the media.

"We all owe a debt of gratitude to the press in Africa for the relative improvement in the governance environment that seems to be gaining ground in Africa in recent years."

He particularly praised the GCGL for going a step further to provide an annual platform for discussing and highlighting good governance issues of relevance to Africa's growth and development, saying that the gesture had pushed the role of the media one notch higher.

Mr Pianim noted that in spite of criticisms of the media, it deserved a pat on the back for the many sacrifices it made daily to defend the weak and provide voice for the voiceless and to broaden public policy debate within society.

"The efforts of the media in Africa, supported by the international community, have helped to see emerge a new breed of political leadership. There is gradually a move away from the politics of acquiring and holding on to power to a new preoccupation with development and concerns about improving the quality of life of the people."

He congratulated GCGL for championing the African media's move to deepen the public discourse on good governance and its impact on sustainable development in the sub-region, the same manner Ghana led the way to African Renaissance 50 years ago. Mr Pianim noted that holding such a discussion in the Golden Jubilee year of Ghana was a wake-up call to Ghana to uphold the vision of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and champion regional and continental integration, which were imperative to Africa's sustainable development in the face of globalisation.

He noted that rationalisation was the only option for African states, if they were to compete favourably against the western bloc in the international market place.

Mr Pianim reminded African leaders that the trend in the world now was regional groupings where states sacrificed portions of their sovereignty to benefit from the economies of larger groupings. "The ASEAN Group numbers 10 countries with an estimated population of some 554 million and purchasing power of over two trillion US dollars. NAFTA (North America Free Trade Area) includes three members with a population estimated at 430 million and purchasing power of over US$15.2 trillion, the EU has 27 members with a population of 496 million and a purchasing power of over US$12 trillion.

"By comparison ECOWAS has 15 countries with a population of 252 million and purchasing power of some US$343 billion," he said

Mr Pianim noted that whereas within the other blocs, issues like free movement of goods, services and people and common currency had been dealt with and were working efficiently, ECOWAS for instance was still grappling with eight different currencies and various impediments to the free movement within the region.

He suggested that full integration within ECOWAS could achieve and serve a better purpose if is tackled through the creation of joint infrastructure to facilitate trade and investment flow among members. Osahene Offei Kwasi Agyeman IV, Board Chairman of GCGL, noted that regional integration could only be realised effectively when member states dealt with the issues of governance within their states. He said when individual states were able to deal with issues of corruption, accountability, transparency, free speech and others and thereby built trust between governments and civil society within their countries, Africa would be on the path to building national alliances that would facilitate regional integration.

"Good governance is not a luxury but a necessity that is imperative to our integration, sustainable development and wealth creation." The two-day dialogue lists five plenary sessions that would focus on issues of corruption, privatisation of utilities, the EU common currency and how Africa could learn from that experience.

Mr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Managing Director GCGL, said in organising the annual dialogue, the company was ultimately committed to making significant contribution to the process to improve living conditions of the African peoples.

He urged policymakers to pay attention to recommendations that would emerge from the dialogue to assist them in shaping national and regional policies to improve the living standards of their peoples. 25 Sept. 07