A Deputy Minister for Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has debunked claims by the opposition NPP that the media fund instituted in the 2012 budget is to induce unmerited media favours. According to him the fund is to build the capacity of media personnel in the country, which will give professionals the opportunity to explore their areas of interest. “This is not 'soli' to the media but serious capacity building measure to professionals in the media. We don’t have any intention to bribe the media,” he said. He stressed that if the government wants to bribe the media, it would not have been mentioned in public. “Can we bribe professionals like journalists in public?” He explained that the fund will be managed by a board of trustees who will give financial support to media personnel interested in pursuing programmes in particular fields. The Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffour reading the 2012 annual budget in parliament on Wednesday, said the government has set up a GHC 1 Million media fund to equip the media in Ghana. However a leading member of the opposition NPP, Gabby Okyere Darko said that there is more to it than just the money. He noted that it raises a lot of suspicions as the media houses or personnel have not requested for it. Speaking on Asempa Fm’s Ekosii-Sen Thursday, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa rubbished the claims by Gabby Okyere Darko saying there should be no suspicion from anybody because government has no ulterior motive. He said instead of raising suspicions, government should rather be commended for showing confidence in the creative industry. Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa promised that the allocation of the fund will be transparent and fair so that people who want to continue their education can be resourced. “The fund will benefit the nation as a whole if the media who educate all of us are equipped. We are just going to help the media like how the scholarship board does” he stressed. The Deputy Minister for information noted with dismay that the media is being denigrated by one of its own, Gabby Okyere Darko, due to what he said is his ‘unfair’ comments about the fund. “Looking at the 2012 budget, cinematography, creative industry, scientists and innovators were all giving funds but [I wonder] why that of the media will be described as [a] bribe,” he asserted. “The statements from the NPP which seeks to portray that the media is bribable are unfair and condemnable,” he added.