The External Affairs Manager of the World Bank, Mr Eric Chinje, has called for the media's involvement in State contract negotiations from the initial stage to ensure transparency. He said this would enable journalists to monitor contract formulation and implementation so that their countries could benefit from such contracts. Mr Chinje was speaking in a teleconference after the Spring Meeting of the IMF/World Bank to senior journalists of 10 African countries. That arrangement, he said would call for the building of the professional capacity of journalists. Expatiating more he said, "If there is development, everyone including the media benefits from that development. "Sometimes donor funding projects are sited in a country without the knowledge or the involvement of the people nor the political representative of the people." Mr. Chinje said it was not enough for journalists to cover signing ceremonies of agreements without knowing the details of the contract. Knowing what was contained in a contract document would enable journalists to monitor them and to tell the public how the contract would be executed to the benefit of the country. Speakers from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Egypt and Ethiopia asked for the strengthening and equipping of media houses to enhance their operations. Ms. Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, Editor of Ghanaian Times, and Mr. Lloyd Evans, President of Institute of Financial and economic Journalists, who also contributed to the discussion called for the strengthening of journalism training institutions in Africa. They also called for frequent interaction of the World Bank Offices in Africa with journalists to ensure that the media was kept abreast of the operations of the World Bank. Source: GNA