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Host of MetroTV�s Good Morning Ghana programme, Randy Abbey, says he disagrees with the decision by government to set up a Board of Trustees to oversee the Media Development Fund captured in the 2012 budget as part of measures to equip journalists. Government is setting aside GH�1 million for the establishment of a Media Development Fund this year. The fund would be administered by a Board of Trustees which will be an autonomous body operating like the scholarship secretariat. Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffour announced this when he presented the 2012 Budget statement to Parliament on Wednesday. According to Dr. Duffour, it is aimed at improving the professional output and competence of media organizations and personnel in Ghana. But speaking as a panelist on Peace FM�s Kokrokoo Morning show, Randy Abbey said government should rather turn its attention to improving facilities at the state-owned Ghana Institute of Journalism. To him, the creation of a new bureaucracy to help in the training and development of the media is not necessary and opines that the money should rather be channeled through the GIJ. Admittedly, he said, the state has a pivotal role to play in the development of the media in the country but stated that �I have listened to the government and it is not possible for me to agree with them. It's unnecessary for gov't to set up a new board of trustees�I would want government to focus on putting money into the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and then also charging them to build a curriculum specially for practicing journalists,� he said. To him, the lack of development and training of media personnel can equally blamed on owners of the various media houses, especially television and radio, who refuse to organize an in-house or in-service training for its staff. ��Media owners, especially (radio and television) are doing a great disservice to the country; with respect to training and development�the labour law provides that employers should train and retrain (their staff). Meanwhile, we are not even looking at that aspect; finding out the media development programme for every year,� he lamented.