... for rural economic dev’t

The paramount chief of New Juaben Traditional Area and president of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, Daasebre Professor Emeritus Oti Boateng has endorsed and accepted to be the patron and chair of a new media coalition project dubbed: Media- Corporate Response Initiative (M-CRI).

He has accepted to play a leading role in M-CRI as a result of the need to bring the media together as a corporate entity to adopt and implement a project for Rural Economic Development based on business enterprise, business environment and entrepreneurship development through the establishment of a local economic micro-finance regime.

The outcome of this role shall lead to the establishment of an official development organ of the media, and the creative use of the media in combating poverty through micro-finance and enterprise development initiatives to promote local economic development.

Daasebre Oti Boatneg, an accomplished scholar is currently the United Nations High Commissioner on the International Civil Service Commission and the Vice-Chancellor of the World Academy of Letters. This means, he will bring to bear his vast experience as an international civil servant, consultant, scholar and huge reputation within the media fraternity to play an advisory and ambassadorial role for the project.

The Business & Financial Times (B&FT), the leading business and financial media house in the country, is currently implementing a media advocacy action on this initiative with the Azongo Development Planning consult, a development planning consulting firm, with support from DANIDA-European Union and USAID sponsored Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC Fund).

The Executive Director of the Business & Financial Times, Edith Dankwa, whose institution represents the media on the Initiative, said the media institution in the country has added a new chapter of agenda-implementation to its current agenda setting role. She underscored the role that the media under the BUSAC Project has played as a landmark initiative particularly, the success chalked by the GJA to highlight the plight of SMEs through the Business Advocate Programme; and stressed that: “the current B&FT action with BUSAC is a continuation of this media-endeavour to establish a definite institutional organ as a media corporate unit for the entire media fraternity. The Media-Corporate Response Initiative would adopt and implement projects to promote Local Economic Development.”

Daasebre Professor Emeritus Oti Boateng