He said IFFs were diverting resources away from improving education, health facilities, roads and other essential services, thereby weakening government’s capacity to act compassionately towards vulnerable citizens.

Dr Akolgo made the call at a day’s sensitisation workshop at Tamale for selected journalists in the Northern Region, on the Guide for Journalists on IFFs, Progressive Taxation, Resource-Based Lending, and Domestic Resource Mobilisation Reporting in Ghana.

The workshop, organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) with funding support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), through Oxfam in Ghana, formed part of the Tax for Development Strengthening Civil Society and Media for Fiscal Justice project.

Dr Akolgo explained that IFFs undermined the country’s negotiation power with development partners and forced her to rely heavily on external aid.

He emphasised that with stronger inter-agency coordination, Ghana could block the leakages and mobilise enough domestic resources for development projects.
He, therefore, appealed to state institutions such as the Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Finance, Ghana Revenue Authority, Financial Intelligence Centre, Ghana Audit Service and civil society organisations, to work together to address the menace.

Participants at the workshop were taken through core concepts and definitions of IFFs, investigative techniques, critical tools for media practice, and ethical considerations to strengthen their reporting on fiscal justice.

Madam Rosemond Ebi-Adwoa Aryeetey, the Senior Programme Manager for Media, Democracy and Good Governance at MFWA, highlighted the importance of the training, saying it would empower journalists to contribute effectively to the fight against IFFs.

Mr Yakubu Abdul-Majeed, the Northern Regional Chairman, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), whose speech was read on his behalf, commended MFWA and its partners for the initiative, saying it had deepened journalists’ understanding of IFFs and their implications, to hold duty-bearers accountable.

He urged participants to take advantage of the training to improve their investigations and reporting techniques, to ensure equitable distribution of national resources.