NCJPC Holds One- Day Media Dialogue Budget Reporting By: Fiona Benson Kollie

The National Commission of Catholic Justice, Peace and CARITAS on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, ended a one- day dialogue for journalists on budget reporting and debt relief in Monrovia.

The training section was held under the theme “Engaging African Faith Base Institution on  Strategy for securing an inclusive Economic Recovery,”  bringing together journalists from various media institutions across Montserrado County. Speaking during the training, the Regional Coordinator for the National Commission for Justice, Peace and CARITAS, Pilate Johnson, said the one- day dialogue was to enlighten journalists on budget reporting and debt relief, stating that the issue of budget reporting is key; as such, journalists should start to attach key attention to knowing the function and impact of the budget on the lives of the ordinary people across the country. He added that the National Budget is a critical tool for shaping the country development thus there is a need that journalists take key interest in reporting on it in order to get insight on how funds has been allocated and is also benefiting the masses. Mr. Johnson further said most of the time, journalists usually put most of the time on reporting on other issues rather than focusing on budget or debt owed by government and its impact on the citizens.  However, the NCJPC Coordinator also revealed that many African countries are also indebted and Liberia is no exception, stressing that it is upon this backdrop that his organization has decided to empower journalists on how to focus on budget and debt relief reporting for them to further enlighten the public on the budget preference and how it will benefit the society as well as how much is allotted to road development, health, education, infrastructure, youth development, among others. He meanwhile challenged journalists to undergo training as a way forward to creating a transparent society for the betterment of the country.