The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), in collaboration with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, has donated vital equipment to The Multimedia Group’s JoyNews.

This forms part of a broader initiative to strengthen investigative journalism on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Sub-Saharan Africa dubbed 'Expose The Flow'.

The February 27 donation was followed by an in-depth training session for selected journalists, facilitated by an official from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Edward Cudjoe.

The initiative, which spans multiple African countries including Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania, aims to enhance media coverage of illicit financial activities, including tax evasion, over-invoicing, money laundering, and trafficking, particularly within the extractive industries.

Speaking on the project’s objectives, Adizatu Moro Maiga, Senior Programmes Officer at MFWA, stressed the critical role of the media in combating IFFs.

“This is a project that is being run by the Media Foundation for West Africa, working together to curb illicit financial flows in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are promoting reporting on illicit financial flows by building the capacities of journalists, supporting selected media houses with equipment, and funding investigative stories. We believe these efforts will empower the media to report more extensively on this critical issue,” she stated.

Beyond the immediate training and resource allocation, the broader goal of the initiative is to raise awareness and mobilise collective efforts to curb financial crimes across Africa.

“Across Africa, illicit financial flows pose a huge financial burden on countries. This project is designed to raise awareness, educate the public, and encourage media interest in tackling these issues. By addressing tax evasion, over-invoicing, money laundering, and trafficking within the extractive sectors, we hope to curb these harmful practices,” she added.

As part of the initiative, MFWA conducted a needs assessment to identify critical resources that would facilitate investigative reporting on IFFs.

Based on the assessment, JoyNews received cameras, laptops, wireless microphones, and tripods; key tools for effective investigative journalism. Similar support has already been extended to five other media organisations across Africa, including The Fourth Estate.

The General Manager for JoyNews, Francis Fiifi Koomson, expressed his gratitude for the donation and acknowledged the severe impact of illicit financial flows on Ghana’s economic development.

"Currently, if you look at the data on gold export from Ghana, you compare it with data on gold import from Ghana in Dubai, there is a huge disparity. How is the mineral being shipped to these countries? How is it that there's such a huge disparity?"

He assured that the provided equipment and training program would be effectively utilized to enhance media reportage on financial crimes.

"All of these are issues that we should be interested in. We can assure you that we will make sure that the support that you have given to us, will not go to waste," he added.

The project is funded by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.