GHC 1M Media Fund Saga: Laptops From RLG Is To Promote Made In Ghana Goods

The Media Development Fund and the decision to use fund to purchase and disburse laptops by the Ministry of Information has recently become one of the topical issues in the country, having its own twist and turns. The disbursement of a GH�1 million Media Development Fund has generated intense debate with some media organization demanding full disclosure on how the money was spent. Initially, the Government response to media reports was that the Media Fund was uninitialized. But when answering questions in parliament on the issue, the Minister of Information said that the budget money for the year 2011 was used to purchase laptops for journalists. Further explanations by the Information Minister and his Deputies are at variance, and also to the effect that though the laptops were purchased, only 140 were given to the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) and the rest were distributed to Information Service Department workers, parliamentary assistants, etc. Government says 950 laptops were procured with the money and distributed to some media institutions including the GJA, Private Newspapers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), Information Service Department and Ghana News Agency (GNA). The President of the GJA who received 140 laptops on behalf of the GJA, said at the time of receiving the equipment, it was not his understanding that the computers were procured from the Media Development Fund. The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) refused to accept the laptops. The National Media Commission did not participate in the stakeholders meeting at all. Murtala Mohammed, a Deputy Minister of Information and Media Relations, however said the stakeholders agreed to procure computers with the money in the 2012 budget and distribute to journalists else the money would have to be returned to government coffers. Some have however questioned why the Ministry decided to purchase laptops from Rlg and not from any other source. Speaking to the issue on PeaceFM�s �Kokrokoo� show, a Public Interest Lawyer and Ambassador-Designate, Sam Pee Yalley, opines the Information Ministry decided to procure the laptops from RLG perhaps because �they wanted to promote made in Ghana goods�. �I don�t agree with those saying the laptops are not important or needed. With the laptop, one can easily email or forward any story wherever they are with the help of a modem. The idea of computers in media, I won�t underplay. I will concede that they probably bought the laptops from RLG because they wanted to promote made in Ghana goods. However, I will recommend that next time, management should be done in such a way that there will be no problems especially because you are dealing with the media�Management are very important,� he asserted.