Members Of Journalists for Business Advocacy Have Received Participatory Certificates In Financial Literacy Training
Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA) with tacit support from Ecobank Ghana Limited and Bank of Ghana (BoG) have sharpened the minds of its members on financial literacy reporting.
Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu Greater 
Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA) with tacit support from Ecobank Ghana Limited and Bank of Ghana (BoG) have sharpened the minds of its members on financial literacy reporting.
The two-day workshop held at Ecobank Ghana headquarters in Accra from Thursday, April 28 to Friday 29 April 2022 which was under the theme; " Credible Financial Reporting: Key To Financial Stability," trained members on Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy, Exchange Rate Policy, Inflation rate and economic journalism by academia and industry experts.
The scores of members of the JBA who participated in the workshop were introduced to innovative Ecobank products such as Ecobank Express Account, Ecobank Digital Marketing Strategy, and Ecobank Rapid Transfer.
At the end of the two days capacity building training, members were awarded a certificate for full participation and successful completion of the two-day program which seeks to improve journalistic standards in financial, business, and economic reporting in the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari urged the media practitioners, particularly the members of the JBA to endeavor to give accurate reportage on financial issues.
He indicated that the role of the media practitioners in financial reporting is critical in shaping the understanding of the ordinary people to appreciate the management of the economy.
According to Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, there is a difference between accurate reportage that comes from publicly available data and accurate reportage from non-publicly available information.
Dr. Opoku-Afari mentioned that training of the financial sector reporter was critical, adding that financial development and efficiency had strong relations with economic conditions and development.
He stressed that journalists must begin to deepen their understanding of financial reporting because wrong reportage could be detrimental to the Ghanaian financial system.
On the issue of the inflation rate, Dr. Opoku-Afari projected that inflation would trend back towards the medium-term horizon over the next four quarters.
According to him, the latest data shows that headline inflation rose sharply to 19.4 percent in March 2022 from 15.7 percent in February on the back of a significant increase in food inflation.
In addition to these trends, there are significant upside risks to the inflation outlook, including increased commodity prices, particularly crude oil, and intensified supply disruptions.
In March 2022, the inflation rate reached an all-time high of 19.4 percent from 15.7 percent in February.
The figure has largely been attributed to the global Coronavirus pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has affected the prices of commodities on the international market.
At the moment, headline inflation has shifted above the upper band of the medium-term target, driven mainly by food prices, upward adjustments in ex-pump petroleum prices, transport costs, and pass-through of exchange rate depreciation.
In this vein, Dr. Opoku-Afari pointed out that the BoG foresees inflation returning to the medium-term horizon in the next four quarters.
He explained that the remarkable resilience exhibited by the banking sector over the past two years could be attributed to the comprehensive financial sector reforms that took place before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
Dr. Afari pointed out that the banking sector continues to remain liquid, profitable, and well-capitalized.
Meanwhile, about 25 Journalists are undergoing the training which spans from Thursday, April 28th, 2022 to Friday, April 29th, 2022, in Accra.
