Because Accountability Counts – A Journalist guide for covering post-elections

Because Accountability Counts – A Journalist guide for covering post-elections in Ghana is one of the key building blocks for Ghana Post-elections Intervention Project whose main objective is to help overcome the challenges and problems affecting citizens' ability to hold elected representatives accountable for promises they make during pre-election campaigns. The guide's main objective is to empower journalists and other stakeholders
with an information and knowledge resource for playing the watch and guide dog role in holding elected officers accountable. It provides an overview of post-elections landscape of Ghana, covering governance, legislative issues, political parties and their manifestoes,ruling party, opposition and governing after an election and provides guides for covering:
1. Parliament, Political Parties, Ruling Government (mapping campaign promises
& manifesto), Opposition and Key Governance Issues
2. Investigative journalism and post-elections coverage
3. ICTs and Covering Post-Elections
4. Covering Budget and Extractive Industries and
5. Lessons to be learned from the post 2007 election crisis in Kenya

Download a copy of the the guide here

Ghana's Budget Statement for 2011- MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS

Ghana's Budget Statement for 2011- MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS

450. Government‟s main objective for communication is to facilitate the development and access to a reliable, cost effective and world-class communication infrastructure and services, driven by appropriate technological innovations accessible to all citizens.
451. The key projects driving the objective include telecom penetration, Mobile Number Portability (MNP), Telecommunication Gateway, National Fibre Backbone and Broadband.

Performance in 2010  Telecom Sector
452. To improve access, the telecom market experienced a growth of 10.8 percent. The total access lines stood at 16,992,460 at the end of August 2010. This represents a penetration rate of 73.8 percent with mobile telephony accounting for 97.97 percent of the total access lines of about 16,651,168. Additionally, fixed access lines also increased from 267,389 in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 351,448 by the end of August 2010 representing about 27.6 percent increase.

Telecommunication Gateway Project
453. The Ministry of Communication through the National Communication Authority (NCA) facilitated the installation of a consolidated national gateway monitoring system to help the sector accelerate the development of mobile telephony throughout Ghana and also create the environment for a competitive terrain to enhance the delivery of affordable ICT services.
National Fibre Backbone and Broadband Project
454. The Ministry supervised the implementation of the 2nd phase of the Fibre Backbone Project and 90 percent of the Kumasi-Techiman-Sunyani and Tamale-Bolga stretches have been completed. Additionally, the Navrongo-Paga path as well as Tumu-Wenchi stretch have also witnessed 90 percent and 50 percent completion rate respectively.

Provision of Universal Access
455. As part of the universal access obligation, the Ministry will continue to support the extension of ICT infrastructure and services to underserved and un-served areas of the country to bridge the digital divide between the urban and rural areas.

Spectrum Monitoring
456. NCA and Bureau of National Communications (BNC) undertook a nationwide exercise to clear all illegal spectrum occupants in the 450MHz band. In furtherance to this, NCA collaborated successfully to migrate BNC from the 800MHz band to 450MHz band to pave way for the rolling out of the sixth mobile network that will operate on the 800MHz band.

Community Information Centres (CICs)
457. Government as part of its commitment to promote all inclusive information and knowledge society to benefit the underserved and un-served areas continued to sustain the construction of CICs in all constituencies and provide infrastructure and equipment support for the completed ones.
Forty-Six existing CICs have been equipped with internet facilities whilst 20 have been provided with equipment.

E-Government Network
458. The Ministry in collaboration with the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) is pursuing the e-Government network infrastructure project aimed at creating a platform for the use of shared services among the MDAs nationwide to facilitate communication within Government. In this regard, 8 communication masts have been constructed to facilitate the deployment of WIMAX and 5 new ones are at various stages of completion.


Deployment of National ICT Standards and Type Approvals
459. In line with the effective implementation of the Electronic Communications Act, Act 775 of 2008, the Ministry through NCA developed 2 regulatory documents namely, the National Specifications and Technical Standards and Equipment Type Approval Guidelines to help prevent the importation of sub-standard ICT equipments and generate employment.


Outlook for 2011
E-Government Platform
460. The Ministry will continue to pursue the implementation of the e-applications (e-government and e-Ghana) to facilitate efficient and effective service delivery to the public in support of the broad goal of transparent and accountable governance.
461. In this regard, the Ministry will continue with the e-government network infrastructure project aimed at creating a platform for the deployment of ICT on a shared government IT architecture and will among other things build
WIMAX last mile access networks to serve government agencies in all the 10 regional capitals. It is also expected that the WIMAX network will connect up to 550 MDA facilities throughout the country and also offer data rates of up to 20 Megabits per second (Mbps).

Deployment of Enterprise Architecture and E-Government Interoperability Framework
462. The Ministry will ensure the effective implementation of the Enterprise Architecture (EA) as well as the e-Government Interoperability Framework by all MDAs to enable them meet the challenges of the digital economy. These documents will guide MDAs in deploying efficient cost-effective and citizen centred IT solutions that optimizes value gained across Government.

Creation of Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
463. The Ministry will facilitate the establishment of a Network Operation Centre (NOC) where computer servers and routers will be installed to receive reports of computer fraud incidence on a 24/7 basis and also provide remedial actions. This institutional arrangement will be responsible for addressing possible issues such as computer malfunction, cybercrime, and virus attacks among others.


Development of Technology Park
464. The Ministry will promote the development of an ICT Park under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) project to facilitate growth in the technology industry to create the enabling environment for real job creation in the area of ICT and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) business initiatives. The design and construction phase of the project will commence at the Tema multi-purpose industrial park.


Telecom Sector
465. The focus for 2011 will be the expansion of the broad band infrastructure to cover all District Assembly areas to support the deployment of high speed internet to District Assemblies, schools and teacher training colleges, hospitals and police stations.


Mobile Number Portability Solution
466. The Ministry will ensure that the NCA intensifies its policy dialogue with the Telecom Industry players to address challenges associated with implementing Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in a market environment that is moving towards the deployment of next generation and converged networks. MNP will foster customer choice of service and help pro mote effective competition in the telecom industry by enabling subscribers to swish between service providers without cost and inconvenience of changing telephone numbers.


National Digital Migration
467. The Ministry will continue to monitor the national digital broadcasting migration process to ensure the smooth migration process from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting in line with international convergence standards.
Monitoring of Telecommunication Gateway Project
468. Government will promote transparency in the communication industry and will not relent on its responsibility to verify the number of international telephone traffic to Ghana for the purpose of enhancing revenue for development. The National Communication Authority will be tasked to exercise utmost vigilance to ensure that Government policy of strictly monitoring the international gateway infrastructure and the contribution of service providers is not undermined through the complacency of some of the operators.



Provision of Universal Access
469. The development of 50 Common Telecom Facilities that will enable telecom operators extend their services to many more communities in addition to the 378 communities under the scheme will be pursued.
470. Further, the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) will accelerate the implementation of the schools connectivity project. This will enable more schools to be provided with connectivity and ICT equipment to enhance community and distance learning.
471. Madam Speaker, for the implementation of the above activities an amount of GH¢29,547,558.00 has been allocated. Out of this, GH¢6,280,127.00 is GOG and GH¢23,267,431.00 is from Donor.

Fwd: Beyond the Bank: The Rise of Mobile Money in Ghana

As the number of mobile phone subscribers in Ghana increases, so does the market for mobile money services. The majority of Ghanaians lack any formal bank account. Kwami Ahiabenu II reports on how mobile money could change the shape of financial transactions in the country.

By Kwami Ahiabenu II

An estimated 80 percent of Ghanaians are "unbanked" – meaning they conduct their transactions outside the banking sector with no access to financial services. Products like "mobile money," that enable safe and secure money transfers without the use of a bank account, could have a major impact on this unserved segment of the population. Mobile money gives anyone with a mobile phone the ability to transfer money, make cash payments and conduct other financial transactions over the phone.

Mobile money is a relatively new phenomenon in Ghana. It was first introduced by the telecom company MTN a year ago. MTN Mobile Money operates in partnership with nine banks. Currently, more than 2 million Ghanaians are registered as active users. MTN expects this number to grow as a result of the resources they have committed to educating subscribers about switching from the traditional mode of cash payments to electronic payments. Earlier this year, Zain became the second mobile operator to provide mobile money services through the introduction of ZAP, working with three banks.

How Will Mobile Money Help Ghana?

With more than 15,000,000 mobile phone subscribers in Ghana, the potential market for these new services is significant. Mobile money presents certain advantages for Ghanaians without access to banks. It reduces the transaction costs of financial services for the poor, especially those in rural areas where financial services seldom exist. Mobile money saves the cost of travel and time spent visiting the nearest town to access financial services. As noted in AudienceScapes research , mobile money provides people with a way to transfer money safely and keep (or even increase) their savings.

Mobile money has the potential to create jobs directly through hiring in the mobile phone companies, partner banks and the more than 4,000 merchants involved in Ghana's mobile money system. Key partners in the provision of mobile money services include commercial banks, mobile phone operator's shops, distributor shops and accredited agents.

Jobs may be created indirectly as mobile money contributes to growth in Ghana's business and trade. If deployed successfully, mobile money could help individuals harness funds outside the banking system and channel them into the formal financial sector, thus making it easier to gather funds for investments.

Not surprisingly, the general manager of Mobile Money-MTN, Bruno Akpaka, sees many benefits for Ghana as it continues adopting this service. Akpaka believes mobile money will "help trade activities within the country and foster strong business partnerships."

"The creation of wide merchant footprints in places where traditional banks cannot go also contributes to bringing people into this new model of financial transactions," said Akpaka. "MTN Mobile Money is bridging this existing huge gap between the unbanked and the financial sector."

The Rise of E-Money Services

The introduction of mobile money service is taking place in isolation but in parallel with the advent and expansion of other financial electronic payments services. One of these is E-Zwich, an electronic platform that enables the loading and spending of electronic cash and also allows the settlement of inter-bank claims in addition to online transactions. Others are being made available over the Internet and through SMS-text messages.

The government regards these services as banking. They are strictly regulated and licensed by the Central Bank- Bank of Ghana under its branchless banking policy.

Both MTN and ZAIN SIM cards are enabled to utilize the service but each new subscriber needs to register for the service at before it is activated. Upon activation, the user is provided with a secure electronic "wallet" where funds can be disbursed or uploaded. The users can either exchange electronic money for physical cash (cash out) at shops, partner banks and accredited agents or make use of it in making purchases or transfers.

Enabling a Cash Flow to Rural Areas

In general, the most popular mobile money service is money transfer. The trend is for users in urban areas to transfer funds to recipients in rural areas. Traditionally in Ghana, city dwellers often send money to members of their extended family living in rural areas.

Other typical services include the purchase of mobile phone airtime, goods and services through electronic transfer of money from user's wallet to the merchant's account.

Commenting on money transfer via mobile phones, Carl Niikoi Ashie, an m-commerce (mobile commerce) specialist at Zain who works on ZAP, said: "The customers can 'cash in' by loading money onto their ZAP wallet, then send the money to someone else on their phone in a simple process. The person receiving the money can 'cash out' by going to any of our outlets and exchanging the e-value for physical cash. We're seeing tremendous growth in the service across the country, with more cash-in done in the major cities while cash-outs are seen predominantly in the smaller towns."

Ashie sees a lot of evidence that his product is reaching Ghana's unbanked. "Users do not need to have a bank account to use the service. Currently, there are a lot of monetary transactions that take place outside the confines of the banks and it will take a product like ZAP to fill the void while providing a secure, convenient and trustworthy channel of transaction," said Ashie. "Some customers have also requested products that will allow them to use their ZAP wallets for savings and hence enjoy interest on their savings, just as pertains in the traditional bank setting."
http://audiencescapes.org/ghana-mobile-money-branchless-banking-research-MTN-E-Zwich

Texts a New Tool in Guinea’s Historic Election

Mobile phones turned citizens into election observers in Guinea's landmark presidential election. The technology will also be used to help voters in the upcoming September run-off poll.

By Kwami Ahiabenu II

On June 27, 2010, Guinea held what is widely being hailed as the nation's first freely run democratic election since gaining independence in 1958. A run-off between the two presidential candidates earning the most votes will take place on September 19, 2010. Another first in this landmark election process is the use of mobile phone technology.

Mobile phones have become a preferred means of communication in Africa because they are convenient and affordable relative to other methods. Most countries on the continent are now recording the use of mobile phones by all key stakeholders in their elections: from electoral officials, political parties and individual candidates, to electoral security agencies, civil society organizations, and local and international observers.

Candidates use mobile phones to raise funds and campaign. Voters can use mobile phones to verify their registration information and correct it if necessary before going to the polls. Mobile phones are also used to inform citizens about voter registration, and to inform registered voters about when, where and how to vote. And, in Guinea, phones have been used as a tool for election observation.

"If you have a problem during voting, send a text message to 8080." During the first round of elections in June, this was the message that Guineans around the country received at public forums, on the radio and in newspapers. The message advertised an election-monitoring service based on SMS text messages. The SMS service used a short code number, "8080," which enabled all mobile users in Guinea, regardless of their mobile operator, to send election-related queries, comments and report problems. The service was implemented by a coalition of government, private and business partners. These included the nonprofit group Alliance Guinea, the African Elections Project, Guinea's National Independent Election Commission (CENI), mobile operators (Areeba, Cellcom, Intercel Guinee, Orange or Sotelgui) and African Business Services.

Commenting on the SMS election-monitoring service, U.S. Ambassador Patricia Moller said at a briefing before the June election: "The United States is committed to ensuring that these are the freest and most transparent elections in Guinea's history. This innovative initiative will help to make this vision a reality…By providing voters with the means to protect their vote, we have helped to place the future of their country in the palm of their hands. This technology will allow CENI, local and international observers, and security forces to respond to incidents in real time."

After voters went to the polls, Alix Davilmar of the Guinea-based African Business Services, the providers of the short code service, declared the service a success. Davilmar said: "We received about 4,000 SMS [messages] before the day of election and on the day of elections there were approximately 8,000 SMS entries. After the Election Day, over 2,000 SMS entries also came in. These messages were all posted online and distributed as e-mail alerts to election administrators and observers, international media, civil society organizations or the general public."

The election did experience some glitches, according to the Carter Center, a U.S. NGO with expertise in observing elections which was on the ground in Guinea. In a statement, the Carter Center described some of the problems observed, "Confusion about several important aspects of voting and counting procedures, delay in allocation of polling stations, and late delivery of essential voting materials negatively affected the quality of polling."

Despite these difficulties, the period following the election has been calm and the results respected by all parties. The Carter Center itself declared the elections a success and noted, "the elections were marked by broad political participation, a spirit of open campaigning, and transparency."

Now all eyes are on the September poll, as Guineans prepare for the country's return to civilian rule.

http://audiencescapes.org/texts-new-tool-guinea-historic-election-mobile-communications-carter-center

Ghana – land of Gold, land of technology-Overview of ICT Sector

Kwami Ahiabenu,II

Introduction

Ghana can be counted among leading countries in West Africa's information and communication technology (ICT) space; its industry is growing with new developments being recorded each passing day. In recognising the potential of ICTs as an important tool, the government and industry stakeholders are aggressively pushing to accelerate the growth and development of the country in all sectors. Ghana's Extractive Economy with weak Industrial Base

At independence, the Ghanaian economy was relatively robust and well supplied with natural resources, skills and finance with an average per capita income of US $600.(1957). Over time, however, the structure of the economy has not seen any significant change, it is still an extractive-based economy with gold, timber and cocoa constituting its main sources of foreign exchange.

Another key characteristic of its economy is a heavy dependence on international financial and technical assistance in all sectors, which has inevitably resulted in an enormous external debt portfolio. In order to tackle its mounting external debts, 2002 saw Ghana opting for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) scheme, a World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt relief initiative. As a result of the HIPC programme, Ghana will save a total of US$230 million annually in debt service costs over 2004-2013, according to IMF estimates. To deal with the growing levels of poverty, Ghana has also developed Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) which chronicles its "agenda for growth and prosperity.

KEY ICT SECTORS IN GHANA AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

If the performance of a stock exchange is a strong indication of a country's investment climate, then Ghana is an attractive prospect for those seeking a good return on investment. The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) is among the best performing markets in the world. In 2003, it outperformed the effective yield of the benchmarked 91 and 182 day Treasury bills with market capitalisation rising by 104% while market turnover in value terms was up 335%.

Furthermore there a rising number of entrepreneurs running a number of successful ICT and ICT-enabled businesses, a strong indication of the significant potential for growth of ICT enterprises in Ghana.

The ICT sector is enjoying sustained growth in key areas such as ICT training, internet service provision, business outsourcing processing, telecommunications and software.

Telecommunications
Telecommunications remains the top growth area both in the area of fixed and mobile telephony, though mobile telephony is the leader in this sector; currently there are two national fixed line operators in Ghana – Ghana Telecom (GT) and Westel.

Westel has not been able to meet its rollout obligations as a second national operator and the National Communication Authority (NCA) initially imposed a fine of a little over US $71 million on the company. While through government intervention the figure has being reduced to US$25milion, Westel continues to mount a court battle to avoid paying the fine.

Generally, GT remains the biggest ICT player in Ghana by the virtue of its combined fixed lines; mobile telephony, international bandwidth wholesaling and ISP service offerings.

Mobile Telephony
Long waiting periods for fixed telephony – in some cases up to a year - plus limited availability in most areas of the country, has fueled the rapid growth of the mobile telephony business in Ghana. With four mobile operators, namely GT (One Touch) Milicom (Mobitel), Scancom (Spacefon) and Cell Tel (Kasapa) servicing the needs of an estimated one and half million mobile phone subscribers. Spacefon remains the market leader with 800,000 plus subscribers. Furthermore, with the recent introduction of advanced mobile communications technology such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), the operator is able to offer multimedia services including Internet browsing.

Kasapa prides itself on being the most inexpensive provider of cellular calls. Its business model has to date proven to be highly successfully, cost effectively offering cheap call rates by avoiding the use of fancy technology. It remains the only non-GSM cellphone provider to date, relying rather on analogue technology, and offers free activation and starter packs.

Mobitel is Ghana's first cellphone company, and initially dominated the industry as a leader for some time prior to the introduction of competing operators. Unfortunately, it did not recognise that GSM was the driving force of mobile telephony, and thus it did not rush to implement the technology. Failure to capitalise on this market current cost it dearly as competitor Spacefon introduced GSM and subsequently took a very significant share of the market. In the interim, however, Mobitel has successful implemented its GSM system and it is working hard to gain market share.

With a strong sales drive, One Touch was dominant for some time, but the company has taken a decision to stop selling services to new subscribers due to lack of capacity on its switches. It recently expanded its network significantly and it is poised to take a healthy proportion of the growing Ghanaian cellular market.

Developing human capital for ICTs
Ghana has adequate human resources to drive ICT growth and development, but faces the well documented issue of the significant skills gap that persists in Africa, especially in the high level ICT skills area. This situation is compounded by a brain drain effect, where top professionals - including ICT-trained individuals – are lured away to First World countries. Currently there is enormous demand for ICT training, which presents a host of investment opportunities for entrepreneurs.

The ICT human resource landscape is characterised by four types of ICT training opportunities. At the upper level, tertiary institutions - mostly universities - are focused on producing computer science, engineering and information system graduates. In recent times, an increasing number of private universities have initiated operations in Ghana, with most providing ICT-based training, filling the training gap resulting from the lack of capacity of public sector universities.

The second type of training is competence-based instruction, which is aimed at producing specific ICT skills as required by industry verticals. This level of training is a niche market with few institutions offering services in this area; there is therefore a significant level of opportunity that can be tapped by appropriate providers.

The next level of training is end user training at the mass market level. There are a number of training schools providing service in this area; at this level the market is somewhat saturated.

A growing phenomenon is teaching computer literacy in schools. This opportunity carose as most formal schools in Ghana do not provide computer literacy. With many schools now outsourcing their training needs to third parties instead of developing their own computer centres, opportunities exist for providers of such facilities and equipment to address the market need for basic computer literacy at the school-learner level. The Ministry of Education is encouraging and working with such training schools, but it is constrained by lack of a policy to guide the process, as well as the absence of predefined ICT curriculum for the schools.

Internet Service provision
Internet service provision is also another area of considerable growth and opportunity in Ghana. There are a number of ISPs working under an industry body, Ghana Internet Service Providers (GISPA) which is working to regulate the provision of Internet connectivity on the country. The success of the body in regulating the industry has been demonstrated in a recent case where Ghana Telecom was offering cheap bandwidth through its ISP division, while selling at a higher price to other ISPs - GISPA successful negotiated price reduction to create a fair environment in which the ISPs could conduct their business.

Though a considerable number of end users make use of dial up Internet access, most Ghanaians tend to use the Internet at public access cyber cafes, which are dotted all over the country. However, due to high costs including that of bandwidth, most cyber cafes in Ghana are struggling to break even.

Outsourcing in Ghana and Software Development
There are a number of outsource service provider companies in Ghana, including Affiliated Computer Services, Rising Data Solutions, AQ Solutions and Supra Telecom.

However, Supra Telecom has closed shop, since its parent company in the US filed for bankruptcy.

Ghana is positioned to benefit from outsourcing business opportunities, but it must establish an enabling environment including a pool of high quality yet affordable English-speaking computer literate workers as well as an inexpensive telecommunication infrastructure. Generally, Ghana has a long way to go before it can call itself a true outsourcing location.

Local development of software is becoming popular with a number of software companies and consultancies providing solutions in this area; some are already exporting their products. Local software development, however, remains an industry in its infancy and therefore presents an area of potential growth.

Government ICT
The Ministry of Communication is the leading government organ responsible for ICT in Ghana and is charged with the responsibility of coordinating government use of ICTs. In 2002, it developed an ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4D) policy which articulates the vision of transforming Ghana into an information-rich knowledge-based society and economy through the development, deployment and exploitation of ICTs within the economy and society. The key focus of the government is to create enabling environment to nurture the development of the ICT industry in the country.

Challenges facing ICT development in Ghana
Perhaps the most significant issue facing development in Ghana is a reality that confronts many African countries – it has a cash-based economy with limited development of its financial services infrastructure. With over 80% of money in circulation outside the banking system, finding affordable loans and credit is very difficult if not impossible. This situation has lead to the small scale nature of most ICT businesses since they are constrained in their capacity to expand. Furthermore, the size of the ICT market is relatively small since most organisations which can benefit from ICTs products and services are slow to invest in this area.

Lack of policy implementation, lack of telecommunications infrastructure and poor regulatory environments are also affecting the growth and development of the industry.

Ghana's ICTs industry is highy visible internationally with a lot of opportunities yet to be leveraged. It has chalked up many successes but there is a long way to go for ICTs to contribute significant to growth and development of the country and overtake the traditional resources exports which include gold, cocoa and timber.

Nurturing Media in West Africa

The West African Media Development Fund opens it doors to facilitate the growth of media in the region. AudienceScapes interviewed the fund's CEO about their plans to sow the seeds of a vibrant and pluralistic media sector.

By Kwami Ahiabenu II

The growth and development of the media as a business venture in West Africa is hindered by a number of factors. The region possesses a limited professional capacity to produce journalism, operating a media outlet is expensive, access to credit facilities is limited and the cost of borrowing is typically high. These factors are threatening the growth of pluralistic media in the region.

To solve some of these challenges, media funds have been established to provide media organizations with affordable and readily available lines of credit. Examples of media funds active on the continent include country-based funds like the Tanzania Media Fund, regional funds like the Southern Africa Media Development Fund, and at the global level, the Media Development Loan Fund.

Media organizations in West Africa were encouraged when the West Africa Media Development Fund (WAMDEF) was set up. Launched in April of this year, WAMDEF will provide financial support to privately owned, independent media organizations established on weak capitalization and operating under precarious economic regimes.

From its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, Kwasi Owusu Asare, chief executive officer of WAMDEF, spoke to AudienceScapes about the progress of the fund and his vision for the future:

AudienceScapes: Can you tell us more about WAMDEF, when it was established and why the need for such a fund?

Asare: WAMDEF was launched on the 13th of April 2010 as an initiative of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Free Voice of the Netherlands. This was after comprehensive research had been conducted which showed clearly the challenges independent media had in accessing credit for growth.  The WAMDEF Fund does not only provide credit, but also provides technical support which is critical to the support/sustainability of these businesses.

AudienceScapes: What is your geographical coverage and do you have country offices or representatives?

Asare: Our mandate is to work in all West African countries, but currently we do not have in-country offices, though we are planning to develop this in the near future. We are currently using an in-country representative of MFWA which has a presence in all West African countries.

AudienceScapes: Why is a special case being made for media funding in the region instead of the media being empowered to apply for commercial lending?

Asare: This is because the media has the challenge of not being able to meet the requirement for credit of most financial institutions in the subregion, plus the media is generally seen as a high-risk venture.

AudienceScapes: Who qualifies to tap into the fund and what is the procedure for doing so?

Asare: Basically, any registered news and information disseminating agency, registered and operating within the subregion, is qualified to apply. An applicant has to visit WAMDEF to download an application form. After submission of the form, it will be assessed and a decision communicated to the applicant within 8 weeks.

AudienceScapes: Does WAMDEF have any particular focus in the types of media organizations it will select for funding? Any priorities?

Asare: WAMDEF is particularly interested in news and information-dissemination independent media organizations.

AudienceScapes: Do you providing funding for new media?

Asare: Yes.

AudienceScapes: Do you have any funding opportunities for freelancers or sole proprietorship-type media operations?

Asare: Each media organization is assessed based on its merit.

AudienceScapes: Are funds provided interest free? And typically what is the duration for paying back such funds?

Asare: Our portfolio includes:

* Quick operating loans of up to $10,000, repayable between 60-120 days.
* Short-term loans between $10,000 and $50,000, repayable between 120 days and 2 years.
* Medium-term loans between $50,000 and $100,000, repayable between 3 and 5 years.
* Long-term loans between $100,000 and $200,000 repayable between 5 and 7 years.

Please visit our website for more information. These options are not cast in stone but are assessed and dealt with on case-by-case basis. These loans are not interest free but are offered at much lower interest rate (60-70% less) than prevailing commercial rates in the country of the applicant.

AudienceScapes: How many applications have you received so far?

Asare: Some 30 applications have so far been received, and more keep coming in.

AudienceScapes: Has WAMDEF made any investments yet?

Asare: We will be making our first investments in September 2010.

AudienceScapes: What kind of technical assistance do you expect to deliver the most? What do you see as the greatest technical assistance needs for media organizations?

Asare: The greatest technical assistance media organizations needs are its internal systems. Most of them have no software to harness revenue, ensure internal control, track performance, etc. Closely following these are the human resource capacities especially in the areas of management and general leadership.

AudienceScapes: What are some of your key challenges and achievements over your short period of operations?

Asare: The general volume of financial requests is a testament to the fact that private independent media needs support and we need more partners in this venture.

AudienceScapes: What is your vision for the fund and how do you see contributing to the growth of free and vibrant media in the region?

Asare: The fund will definitely make a major contribution to the strengthening of democracy in the subregion.

source: http://www.audiencescapes.org/intermedia-nurturing-media-west-africa-media-development-fund

GES Introduces SMS Short Code For BECE Placement

The Ghana Education Service (GES), has introduced SMS short code 1060 on all mobile networks for students who sat for the 2010 BECE exams to check their Senior High School placements.

A statement signed by Mr. Charles Parker-Allotey, Head of Public Relations of GES to the Ghana News Agency, said there will be supplementary placement for all qualified and unplaced candidates by 20th October, 2010.

"As part of the plan to fully automate the placement process for this year, the entry into Senior Secondary and Technical Institutes (ESS/TI) placement form would be accessed on the internet."

"Each successful candidate is required to print out his /her ESS/TI placement form from the internet using a GES Scratch Card," it added.

The statement said, the scratch card can be obtained from the nearest Agriculture Development Bank and its agencies as well as the ARB Apex Bank and its network of rural banks by Monday 6th September, 2010.

It said the location of the banks will be published in the local newspapers and advertised on TV and FM stations.

It also said, candidates without access to the internet may contact the head of their various Junior High Schools (JHS).

The GES expects all Regional, Districts Directors and Heads of Junior High School to facilitate the admission process by providing information and helping answer queries raised.

Source: GNA