While an active, knowledgeable press plays a critical role informing the public about the need for transparency and accountability, too often journalists in resource-rich countries lack in-depth information on oil, gas and mining management. RWI, together with local partners PenPlusBytes and the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME), has piloted training projects in Ghana and Uganda to help journalists improve their ability to report and write about the stakes of natural resource exploitation.
In this audio slideshow, ACME General Secretary Bernard Tabaire gives an overview of the comprehensive, on-site education training participants receive: visiting drilling rigs and oil wells; speaking with industry leaders, civil society advocates and the people who live where oil and minerals are produced; learning the technical details of oil and mining production as well as the challenges they can present for communities and the environment; and assessing the impact of company projects undertaken under corporate social responsibility requirements.
"Somebody said the Ugandan oil story is moving very fast," says Tabaire, "so it's important to do this as a basis to ask more questions, whether it's about the environment, the participation of local people and the rest of Ugandans."
'The cumulative impact of the program is the growing volume of stories on oil and mining, collectively tackling a diverse range of issues and angles,' says RWI Media Capacity Building Program Officer George Lugalambi. 'The participants have not only improved their knowledge of the issues, they have also enhanced their all-around skills as journalists. We're now thinking up ways to bring their editors to the same levels and to sustain the reporters' interest in oil, gas and mining issues.'
Read on for a selection of work from journalists in Ghana and Uganda who participated in RWI's media training programs:
- Why Uganda Will Delay to Issue More Oil Licences, by Ibrahim Kasita, New Vision
- Oil Firms at Odds with Uganda Over Production Rates, by Esther Nakkazi, The East African
- Buliisa Locals in Bloody Land Fights as Oil Flows, by Gerald Tenywa, New Vision
- Screen Your Leaders: Niger Delta Chiefs Urge Oil Communities in Ghana, by Stephen Yeboah, Ghana Business News
