When it comes to the fight against Illicit financial flows (IFFs), the media’s normative roles include creating public awareness, exposing corrupt practices, pressuring governments to act, promoting policy reforms and supporting civil society efforts. The media, however, cannot do these if they do not have the requisite knowledge, skills and resources.
Between October 7 to 11, 2024, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), with support from the Thomson Reuters Foundation conducted a 5-day capacity building workshop for journalists in Ghana on IFFs. The training is one of the Foundation’s many interventions to increase reportage on IFFs and promote accountability in governance under its project – Expose the Flow: Working together to curb Illicit Financial Flows in sub-Saharan Africa.
At the training workshop, participants were exposed to concepts such as money laundering, tax evasion, trade under-invoicing, capital flight, sextortion and gender dimensions of crime as part of the complex web of IFFs. They were also shown how IFFs manifest and the various forms and routes that monies, ill-gotten through IFFs, are cleaned up. Facilitators also cited the extractive and real estate sectors as some of the safe havens for money laundering.
The hands-on approach adopted and simulation exercises conducted allowed participants to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired during the workshop. They were able to form hypothetical companies and demonstrate how monies are laundered. This helped them to appreciate the complex nature of IFFs and what to look out for when “following the money”.
“This training is an eye-opener. But for this training, I would not have this in-depth appreciation of the concept of IFFs and how they manifest” – Christabel Oboshie, ZED multimedia
“I did not realise that when it comes to taxation, women were taxed more than men due to the informal nature of their businesses. – Rosemary Akuorkor, GHOne
Illicit financial flows (IFF) pose a significant threat to development in Africa, as the continent loses billions of dollars annually through this sophisticated white-collar crime. Having the technical and financial resources helps to allay some of the fears when pursuing highly sensitive stories.
“I am happy that I can tap into the resources of the facilitators when I need additional information on my story development,” said Evans Aziamor-Mensah of The Fourth Estate.
On his part, Edem Enoch of GHOne television said, “The one-on-one sessions with the lead facilitator on our story ideas have helped me streamline my story idea. I know what story I am going to pursue and I know where to source information from”.
The 5-day workshop is part of the MFWA’s commitment to empowering the media to increase reportage on IFFs in Ghana. The Organization has held similar trainings in the past for investigative journalists and upcoming journalists under its Next Generation Investigative Journalism Fellowship.
