Media and Governance: Promoting Local Governance through Community Radio in Northern Ghana

Abstract

The study provides insights on how Royals FM and Radio Progress have, through innovative and strategic programming, become community mobilisers for tackling issues of communication and accountability in their local assemblies. The study employed a qualitative research approach. Interviews and focus group discussion were used to collect data from two purposively selected Community Radio Stations (CR), and from some community members and other stakeholders in local governance. A key finding of the study was information access difficulties to assist CR conduct investigations on suspected cases of corruption. Another was the public’s partisanship perceptions of CR watchdog functions in exposing corruption, which disincentivised both stations from investigating corruption related issues at the District Assemblies (DA). The study concludes that the little evidence of corruption revelations at the assemblies by the stations despite reports of corruption being a bane to local development efforts, suggests that CR need to overcome all obstacles to enable them effectively perform their community broadcasting mandate as expected. The study recommends a speedy operationalisation of the Right to Information Law of the country. There is the need for the Ghana Community Radio Network to organize periodic training programmes for its members and owners of CR to enable them to strictly adhere to their non-partisan ethos so as to enable them gain public trust in their role as non-partisan arbiters in Ghana’s local governance.