The Ministry of finance through Asamoah & Williams Consulting has trained media practitioners on financial literacy reporting at Tamale in the Northern region of Ghana
The aim of the training was to equip the selected media practitioners with the requisite skills to enable effective dissemination of the ministry's financial literacy campaign’s key messages among the target audience.
The 3- day training workshop deliberations covered a range of topics including the financial sector clean-up and it's emerging benefits and on why Ghana needs financial literate citizens and regulatory efforts to ensure sanity so as to prevent the collapse of financial institutions in future by outlining steps being taken by regulators to protect depositors etc.
The workshop was also used to take the Media practitioners through behavior change communication and writing techniques that will enable them to focus their reportage and discussion programme on key campaign issues.
According to the facilitators, the training forms part of the ministry's goal to design and implement targeted financial education campaigns to empower consumers and improve their knowledge of the financial system in order to build their capabilities in making sound financial decisions that will promote and secure their financial interests, noting that the primary goal of the campaign’s is to also equip consumers of financial services with the capacity to act in their own best financial interests, given their unique socio-economic and environmental conditions.
In a brief welcome address, Mr. Andrew Ameckson from the ministry of finance explained that, the workshop was aimed at training the media practitioners on how to report on financial literacy to enable them educate the public on how they can manage their finances and avoid certain risk that are associated with the financial sector especially on fraud and ponzi schemes.
Mr. Ameckson noted that alot of people fall fowl to some ponzi schemes because the do not have the information that will enable them make informed decisions, a reason to which the ministry took it upon itself to nationwide to educate people on those things to see how best the can support citizens to protect their finances.
He added that, the ministry on knowing that the media is the core source of information dessemination took it upon itself to invite them to have fruitful discussions to come out with all the concerns they have so that the can find solutions to them to make suggestions that can enhance government's objectives and urged them to come out with information that will reach out with the people through their media houses to secure the finances of the people.
The Ministry's financial education campaign seeks to empower consumers with the requisite knowledge (literacy), attitudes, skills and behavior to manage their resources, and to assist them understand, select, and use financial services that fit their needs.
The media as a gatekeeper of public knowledge and information has a key role in information dissemination and awareness raising in every country and therefore planned as part of the implementation of the education campaign to conduct the 3-day workshop for the Media Personnel on Financial Literacy Education in Ghana.
Participants were also taken through some critical role of pension in Old age and the essence of pension to the family, community and the nation at large by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority led by Madam Stella Quartey.
Also, they were educated on the role and impact of insurance on individuals, society and nation and on the key benefits of insurance and how the National insurance commission (NIC) is working to build trust in insurance products.
The executive Director for the Ghana micro finance institutions network ( GHAMFIN), Mr. Yaw Gyamfi updated the participants on efforts made so far to sustain the gains from the financial sector clean-up and also explained that the training was to make sure that some of the events that happened in the past in the financial sector do not reoccur and so therefore the need to meet with the media to discuss what they can do better going into forward interms of their reportage with regards to accuracy and what the public needs infront of them interms of financial literacy.
The training took place at the UDS Guest House in Tamale from May 3rd -5th, 2023.
Source: Padfm.com.gh/Kumatey Gorden/0243531604