Commonwealth News and Information Service (London)
26 February 2008
press release
Sierra Leone journalists have urged the Commonwealth to organise more skills training forums for them to lift the quality of reporting of business issues in their country and the West African region.
The journalists made the appeal at the end of a three-day workshop on budget and financial reporting convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Centre for Policy and Development. Some 20 journalists attended the workshop held February 20-22 in the Sierra Leone Capital Free Town.
At the end of the workshop, the journalists formed an association and pledged to promote and improve the quality of business and financial reporting in Sierra Leone.
They highlighted the need for more training opportunities as a way of encouraging more journalists to specialise in business and financial reporting - which is currently non-existent in Sierra Leone.
"We would like this programme to be sustained so that we can continue to learn more and more about financial and budget reporting, which we had never had an opportunity to learn about until now," Mohammed Samoura said, speaking on behalf of all participants.
He said many journalists lacked computers and internet connectivity to do their work well and additional support would greatly lift the standard of journalism in Sierra Leone and enhance the media's ability to inform and educate the citizens.
Central Bank Governor of Sierra Leone, Dr Samura Kamara urged the journalists to monitor government expenditure and to ensure they report accurately and analytically.
"When you look at the budget, you should look at what is being allocated to health, to education, and other social services. These are the issues people want to know and read about," he said at the closing ceremony.
Resources at the event included Professor Anya Schiffrin of Columbia University New York, BBC journalist Orin Gordon and Paul Busharizi, Business Editor of Uganda's New Vision newspaper.
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