Policy analyst of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed says government’s decision to use the one million cedis media development fund to purchase laptops for journalists defeats the purpose for which the fund was set up.

According to him, the biggest challenge facing media practitioners in Ghana is capacity building and not the provision of resources like laptops for journalists to do their work.

Atik Mohammed was commenting on government’s claim it spent the one million cedis media fund on laptops for journalists after the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) demanded the whereabouts of the money.

The media fund was established by then vice president John Mahama in 2012 to help improve media work in the country.

But its disbursement was stalled after disagreements between the Ministry of Information, the National Media Commission (NMC) and other media organization over who should control the fund.

But close to a year after the fund was released, Information Minister, Mahama Ayariga on Thursday told Parliament the media fund was used in buying laptops for media practitioners.

This has generated a lot of controversy with many media practitioners denying receipt of the laptops. The NMC and MFWA are demanding transparency in the management and disbursement of the media development fund.  

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Friday, Atik Mohammed said government erred in using the money meant for capacity building to buy laptops.

He noted that laptops which hitherto was a necessity for any journalist is fading out due to the advent of Ipads and other gadgets.

“I really do not see how laptops can improve the capacity of journalists. The biggest problem facing Ghanaian journalists is not laptops but rather refresher courses to enable them improve on their profession” he noted.

Atik could not fathom why government used the money to purchase laptops as he claimed most journalists in Ghana lacked the professional competence to do their work judiciously.

Conceding that the initiative by government to build the capacity of the media is laudable, the PNC man bemoaned what he called the clandestine nature with which the money was disbursed.

 Atik Mohammed commended the Media Foundation for West Africa for leading the crusade to expose the truth and called on other media practitioners to join in the fight to demand accountability from government.

He also proposed that the fund should be controlled by an independent trustee to avert such controversy.