N/R: MFWA Equips Journalists on Illicit Financial Flows Reporting

Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has organised a sensitisation workshop in Tamale to equip journalists with skills to report on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), progressive taxation, and domestic revenue mobilisation.

The media guide, launched on August 1, 2025, was developed to equip journalists with the requisite knowledge to uncover and report on issues of IFFs and other related financial irregularities for nation building.

The training funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through Oxfam in Ghana, held on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, forms part of the “Tax for Development Strengthening Civil Society and Media for Fiscal Justice” project.

Dr Bishop Akolgo, the Consultant for the Guide, speaking at the training said the document contained step-by-step methods for journalists to spot IFFs stories with real-world case studies that could help transform them into evidence-based storytellers.

According to him, data revealed that IFFs from Africa was estimated to be over $88.6 billion annually, noting that Ghana’s IFFs mostly stemmed from extractive, trade, and tax evasion.
“The money Ghana loses to illicit financial flows is critical to its development and could be used to address major challenges in the country like education, health and others,” he said.

He noted that the Guide contained all the necessary information to help journalists build confidence to investigate hidden financial flows, while holding individuals, governments, and multinational corporations accountable.

Senior Manager at MFWA, Rosemond Ebi-Adwo Aryeetey, urged journalists to make good use of the Guide to help shape their ability to pay critical attention to IFFs related cases, and report on them for public interest and accountability.

Speaking on behalf Northern Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr Nelson Adanuti Nyadror while commending MFWA and its partners for developing the Guide, also encouraged the Journalist to take the training serious.

Representing the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), Alhaji Mohammed Gadzafi, in his remarks described the guide as a timely tool for exposing financial crimes that continue to cost Ghana an estimated $1.4–$3 billion annually.

Story By: Alhassan Yakubu |www.diamondfmonline.com |Ghana.