A four-day training workshop for members of Brong-Ahafo Regional branch of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has ended in Sunyani with a call on media practitioners to help create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
Mr Charles Koomson, Brong-Ahafo Regional Chairman of GJA who made the call noted with concern that politics had taken a greater part of the Ghanaian media to the detriment of other social issues.
The workshop attended by 30 media practitioners from the Region was sponsored by Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC).
Mr Koomson who is also the Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager of Ghana News Agency observed that activities of the private sector had been relegated to the background for a long time, most especially in the electronic media.
He explained that since the private sector was the engine of growth and development there was the need for the media to facilitate its development to become competitive and vibrant by improving the environment in which businesses operated.
Mr Koomson noted that regional branches of GJA were not proactive and stressed the need to build vibrant branches "so we can help sustain effective and efficient advocacy for private sector development.
"It is very important to build, project and make GJA a business entity to promote private sector development," he said.
Mr Koomson commended BUSAC for the support and urged participants to impart the knowledge acquired positively to ensure a positive change in their operations towards private sector development.
Mr Gabriel Gbiel Benarkuu and Mr Solomon Mensah, facilitators at the training workshop took participants through objectives of BUSAC fund, developing proposals to access the fund and how to sustain effective advocacy.
Mr Mensah stressed the need for the media to enhance engagement of the private sector in public policy formulation and implementation at national, regional and local levels.