Members and associates of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) are calling on the association’s members to take a new direction including electing new faces in the next Executive. The SLAJ members in particular say they want an executive that is vocal, upright and fearless in its advocacy and in addressing issues of national importance in the interest of the general public, notwithstanding the largesse it is receiving from Government as subvention. The members are of the view that in spite of that financial relationship with the Government which appears to have simmered down the outgoing Executive, the association must uphold its tenet of holding Government accountable being a watchdog of society generally.
According to its members SLAJ, the umbrella association for media practitioners, is at a crossroads. As it prepares for a new executive when the tenure of the current one ends about the middle of the year, there is widespread call by those concerned for a free and vibrant media sector headed by an umbrella organisation that is a motley crew of ideological and other leanings, is vocal and unflinching in its advocacy for democratic good governance and the upholding of the rule of law over any and all allegiances and supposed alliances of association.
Members of the public and the media fraternity are concerned that the quietness and makeup of the current SLAJ Executive including media practitioners and their publishers or proprietors as a whole have been largely captured or bought by the Julius Maada Bio-led Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) government.
One very senior member of the association commented thus: “There is the belief that the focus of the current executive is on pleasing the government to qualify for additional subventions. There is fear in us about this regime; a fear of violence, court cases or possible imprisonment. There is fear that even some of our colleagues who have been drowned in the macabre fight for political dominance over our association being sell-outs of those whom they perceive as not with them.”
A now retired female Journalist but still an active member of the Association has also noted: “We also see that the SLAJ presidency keeps rotating within a certain established clique and we don’t want to see a cliquish mentality dominating the executive, which is another form of control. So, we don’t want a SLAJ executive that is dumb; we don’t want one that is controlled by either the government or those few colleagues who have had domino stranglehold on the association for the ten years to continue whitewashing our association, and we don’t want either, an association that is driven by the whims and caprices of political party journalists with special interest in quietening media probing particularly from our umbrella body.”
The apparent general consensus is that, as the SLAJ elections approaches is that, SLAJ now, moving forward, deserves a mature and proactive leadership that should and must stand not only for the protection of the rights and welfares of Journalists, but that can stand for the people as and when appropriate without fear or favour.
The media house owner clarified that a subvention from government for the media is a principle of a sound and vibrant democracy, similar to the support sitting governments give to opposition parties during elections, adding, However, the way it is being done here by this government is a means of exercising soft control over the media. The subventions are meant to quiet voices critical of the government in the media. SLAJ is being used by the government to positively lead public opinion on government’s plans and actions, and the rest of the media is expected to follow.
Also concerned about the impotence of SLAJ over the years are civil society organizations whose bane is on human rights. A member of that group has noted that media houses that are critical of government’s plans or actions and exposes government’s excesses are purposely being starved by the government by denying them government adverts as an indirect way of not letting them breadth and suffocating them out of circulation.
“The media needs advertising to survive. We don’t make much on circulation. As the biggest advertiser the media depends a lot on government adverts. The government is partly responsible for starving the media to keep members under control. We need a new SLAJ executive that will not only be outspoken but also come up with ways for the media to free itself from the dependency on government revenue, be they adverts or subventions by organising financial training for media house owners. The media need new revenue streams away from depending on government. Our society is at a crossroads and what we do as SLAJ and the media has a great bearing on the future of our people and state,” the CSO activist stated.
The concerned Sierra Leonean patriot said based on how ineffective the legislature and judiciary, the intelligentsia and members of the interreligious council have been quiet over the years, the media has its work cut out for it as a member of the Fourth Estate in the country’s governance system.
“It is obvious that presently the executive has the legislature, judiciary, the Bar Association and others with their tongues stuck in their mouths. Look at all that have happened since 2018 yet SLAJ has been quiet. We failed to hear from SLAJ when protesters were killed and the president called them terrorists, when the president said his regime would not kill anymore civilians, when wanted Dutch cocaine smuggler Jos Leijdekkers was identified and exposed as being in Sierra Leone, when our embassy vehicle was arrested in Conakry with cocaine and foreign exchange, when Ernest Bai Koroma was forced into exile, when Lara and Tamba were sacked and how they were sacked, on electoral justice and presently on the abortion and counterterrorism laws. We need a SLAJ executive that can address all issues, and we also need a regime that is truly dedicated to freedom of speech, not one that is trying to use money to control the media,” the CSO activist maintained.
Concerned members and supporters of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) have called on the association to ensure that a new executive takes over from the present that is not beholden to any clique, party government, president or other individuals that exert too much control or influence over how the media umbrella association does its work.
“In conclusion what we need at SLAJ is an executive that is more vocal, that is less dependent on government subvention and the undue influence of previous SLAJ executives; that offers financial training for media houses to diversify our revenue streams away from overreliance on government adverts or other financial support that can be used as a means of control. SLAJ needs a new direction and new faces. We should consider that the subventions can be a trap that forces SLAJ and journalists to consider what they do or say or how they react to what others say about the sitting government, depending on the government of the day. We don’t expect a relationship with the government where the media is being thrown from pillar to post, from frying pot to flaming fire. We have a lot of work to do in the media to show that we are not being bought by the government of the day,” a strong member of SLAJ called on the outgoing executive.
The concerns expressed herein is a hitherto call on all SLAJ members, in particular the young and the newly recruited Journalists to see the association of one of equals (Primus Interpares) through which they too can build their careers. It is no favour by anyone that ensured your membership. You are a member of SLAJ because you met the criteria set out in the Constitution and you consequently satisfied the Interview Panel. You are now yourselves as long as you practice within the confines of the IMC Code of Practice and the SLAJ Code of Ethics. Your decision in the next election must not be influenced by any special relations or attachments. When the time comes, go and vote your conscience! There are several entrapments associated with the special interest that has been used in the past ten years to stranglehold junior and inexperienced members into cajoling them in aligning with their SLAJ politics agenda. It is those influences, physical or nocturnal that appears to have resulted in the derailing of that enviable recognition of “The Last Man Standing” that SLAJ held in the Presidency of Umaru Fofana and leading to the 2012 general election. Young Journalists are therefore advised to tread cautiously and to use their heads and hearts wisely to restore that long last glory of their SLAJ. Lonta!