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The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Julius Debrah, has reinforced the government�s commitment to good governance, which is premised on transparency and accountability. He said the government would continue to put in place measures to ensure that the goal was achieved, since it formed the bedrock of the country�s development and progress. The minister tasked all stakeholders to contribute their quota towards the sustainability and development of the local government system. He said the ministry was committed to working with an informed media to build the capacity of practitioners on the local government system and its related issues. These were contained in an address read on his behalf by his deputy, Nii Lantey Vanderpuje, at a three-day capacity-building workshop for members of the media network on social accountability project under the ministry. Workshop The workshop, sponsored by the World Bank, brought together more than 60 media practitioners from the Ashanti and Eastern regions. Already, practitioners from Brong Ahafo and the three northern regions have benefitted from the programme, while plans are underway to organise a similar workshop for those in the Western, Central, Volta and Greater Accra regions. Among the issues discussed at the workshop were communication skills and local government budget process. The Social Accountability Unit of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development established the media network in 2012 to complement the efforts of the ministry through education. Mouthpiece The Board Chairperson of the Graphic Communication Group Ltd, Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, who was one of the facilitators at the workshop, challenged journalists, as the mouthpiece of the less-privileged and society as a whole, to help expose wrongdoings and the challenges confronting them. She said Ghana being a young democratic nation, there was the need for the media to be proactive in educating and informing the populace on issues that stood the chance of promoting the development of the country. She advised the media to be circumspect in their activities to avoid creating chaos or possible conflict in society. The Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Yamin, called on all to cooperate and support the operations of the media to promote the development of the country.