The Media Commissions of Ghana and Sierra Leone have agreed to support each other in institutional capacity building and development of joint programmes for the training of journalists and other independent democratic institutions on media, conflict and peace building. The Commissions would also lead efforts towards the development of a unified media regulatory system for integrated West Africa within the framework of ECOWAS and collaborate further in the areas of experience sharing through mutual visits. A joint statement released in Accra on Wednesday indicated that the commitments were made after Commissioners of the Independent Media Commission of Sierra Leone undertook a study tour of Ghana from October 4-11, to share ideas about how to improve democratic regulation of the media in emerging democracies in Africa, using the varied experiences of the two countries as the basis for further work on the continent. The statement was signed by Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of the National Media Commission of Ghana, and Mrs Bernadette Cole, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Independent Media Commission. It said the two institutions observed after the study that free, independent and pluralistic media was essential for initiating democratic reforms, consolidating democracy and inculcating the values of the rule of law in every society. It was also noted that the media can also make substantial contribution to the transformative agenda of a country only if it was responsible. Citing experiences across Africa and especially in Ghana and Sierra Leone, it said while many journalists and media practitioners strived to pursue the noble virtues of truth and social progress, there existed a fringe group whose work left much to be desired. The study also observed that to ensure that African societies benefited from the positive potential of the media and at the same time avoid its pitfalls, there was the need for strong, viable, well-resourced and independent media regulatory bodies across the continent. It noted, however, that while most countries had constitutional and legislative arrangements for the creation of independent media regulatory bodies, most of those bodies were woefully underfunded and virtually neglected by managers of state economies. The statement stressed that as Africa became more complex politically and more open economically, the need to develop comprehensive policies that harnessed media potential would be undermined if this trend was not reversed. Source: GNA