West African Journalists Association (WAJA) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) for Saturday signed a grant agreement designed at strengthening the voices of the media in the sub-region at ceremony held in the Senegalese, capital Dakar.
The four year grant agreement is estimated to the total tune of US$2,972,012 of US$2, 105000 will be provided by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), US$ will be funded by ECOWAS and US$471,012 financed by WAJA and its member association.
Speaking at the occasion Muhammed Garba WAJA President highlighted the significance of the project, adding that “the approval of a grant of US$2.1 million for the benefit of WAJA and its affiliates is strong indicator of the foundation’s remembers recognition of the important role that journalists and the media play in the democratization process in West Africa.”
According to him, WAJA pledges to build substantially on the success registered from phase I during which ACBF had taken the leap of faith back in 2007 to give a grant of US in an area that falls out of the norm of intervention areas.
“Today’s event serves as an inspiration for us to strengthen or resolve, focus our energies and technical expertise in harnessing the strength of journalists and the media in Wes Africa,” he stated.
The WAjA boss said free and more democratic transparent environmental will enable the media to play an effective role in the promotion of sustainable development, good governance and the fight against corruption in order to promote democracy and ensure participatory governance, accountability and transparency in ECOWAS member states.
For her part Frannie Leautier, executive secretary African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) stressed the need to galvanize the role of the media in democratic governance in the Sub-region. “It is significant to strengthen the voice of the media, this is why we are interest in funding this project,” she noted.
She this will help the African media to establish a culture of excellence in the media and the sub-region, adding that media regulation is also priority for her organization.
The objectives of the project are to enhance the institutional capacity and human capacity of journalists and media workers, strengthen the legal protection, safety and security of West African journalists and to improve the work environment for West African Journalists.