Opening courtesies…
When the State House Press Secretary was giving his opening and welcome remarks, he described His Excellency the President Rtd Brig Dr Julius Maada Bio as Champion of Free Speech. Yes indeed, that was a title we (SLAJ) bestowed upon the President for fulfilling his promise of repealing the obnoxious criminal libel law. That law had shackled the media for five odd decades. Our veteran colleagues are here, they would tell you how they suffered under that law. For 50 years we fought, we protested, we demonstrated, we went to court… It was not until under this President that we were able to achieve that huge milestone.
THE ACHIEVEMENTS:
Repeal of Criminal Libel
The repeal of the criminal libel law in 2020 signaled a new dawn for the media in Sierra Leone, and it is the foundation upon which we are now seeing increase media development in the country.
Welfare (IMC Act 2020)- minimum wage
At the same time of the repeal, the IMC Act 2020 was also passed which now requires by law for media employers to pay their staff regular salaries above the minimum wage and their social security contributions. Although this legislation did not solve the perennial welfare issues of journalists, it was a step in the right direction to address the thorny issue of reporters’ salaries and NASSIT contributions.
World Press Freedom Index rating since 2019
The latest data for 2024 indicates a positive shift for Sierra Leone on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, improving from 74th in 2023 to 64th globally, with a score of 64.27. This upward movement suggests a renewed commitment to press freedom and reflects some progress in the media landscape, despite ongoing challenges.
The improvement in ranking indicates that Sierra Leone is making strides in creating a more conducive environment for journalists, which is crucial for fostering democratic discourse and accountability.
This positive trend follows a period of significant fluctuations in Sierra Leone’s press freedom status from 2019 to 2024. In 2019, the country was ranked 86th with a score of 69.64, and it saw gradual improvements over the next few years, reaching its highest position at 46th with a score of 71.03 in 2022.
However, the subsequent decline to 74th in 2023, with a score of 62.55, raised concerns about the sustainability of these gains amid political tensions and threats to journalists. The recent improvement to 64th place in 2024 signals a potential rebound, highlighting the importance of continued advocacy for media rights and the need for government accountability in safeguarding press freedoms as Sierra Leone navigates its complex political landscape.
Annual subvention to SLAJ
Since 2019 to date the President has honoured his proclamation of annual subvention to support our operations. From 250m old Leones to 500m old Leones to 750m old Leones.
The subvention is requested through the Ministry of Information with the submission of a budget from SLAJ. It is distributed to all affiliate bodies, regional branches, payment of secretariat staffs, rent, and repairs. It is audited by the Audit Service Sierra Leone and fully accounted for.
As President of SLAJ and all 27 other elected officials at the national and regional level we are all VOLUNTEERS; and not entitled to any salary or stipend for the work we do.
Media Viability and Investment Conference for the Media
Following the repeal, the government and partners supported the first ever media viability and investment conference in 2022 to help position the media to attract private sector investment. The conference gave us the opportunity to take stock of our landscape, highlighting the challenges and opportunities.
National Blue Print and NaFPIM
The conference gave birth to what we refer to as a National Blue Print for the media, a clear road map for media development in Sierra Leone.
The big achievement for us is the establishment of the National Fund for Public Interest Media in Sierra Leone. His Excellency officially opened the conference and pledged his government’s commitment to the process.
Recommendations generated by the conference included that the “Government and development partners should commit to a national fund for public interest media”.
However, after over one year, we are yet to receive the government’s counterpart funding despite assurances from the past and current Ministers of Information. This has affected the commencement of the grants-making phase of the Fund’s operations.
What we are trying to do with this fund is to promote and build a culture of public interest and accountability journalism which is lacking in our media. A group of journalists or media outlets seeking to do proper investigative and in-depth stories on issues like mining, energy, health, climate change, education, etc can apply for the grants and if they meet the conditions set by the Fund they will be provided with the resources to enable them embark on the assignment and account for the grant given to them.
Safety and Security of Journalists
On safety and security of journalists our biggest score is the cordial relationship we have established with the security sector under the Office of National Security. We were able to bring the heads of the security sector to the table to discuss media security relations and make commitments to collaborate and support one another. We have developed a national framework and established a national multi stakeholder coordinating committee for safety and security of journalists in Sierra Leone. We believe it is the responsibility of the state and all stakeholders to ensure a conducive environment of the journalists and media outlets to operate.
Media Manifesto 2023
Close to the June 24 2023 national elections we launched our media manifesto with support from the European Union through International IDEA to share with politicians what we want for the media. The manifesto captures key thematic areas we believe any intervention in the media should focus on or prioritize. They include:
Promote and protect media freedom;
Safety and security of journalists;
Promote media sustainability and viability;
Advance gender equality women’s empowerment;
Promote media professionalism and capacity building;
Promote and ensure access to information;
Safeguard welfare of journalists;
Promote media literacy.
Gender
With support from the Embassy of Ireland we have also launched the first ever Gender Equality Policy for the media in Sierra Leone to address gender imbalance and related issues in the industry. We commend our Gender Advisory Panel for accomplishing this very important goal.
Iverify (countering mis/disinfo)
The Iverify platform established before the June 24 2023 national elections with support from UNDP and partners now holds a critical place in the operation of SLAJ. With its dedicated and committed fact checkers and coordinators, the platform continues to promote information integrity in Sierra Leone and it is now a reference point to crosscheck and verify public information.
We have given up our SLAJ Hall (a regular source of income for SLAJ) to house the team since March 2023.
This December the platform will complete its second phase and we look forward to working with UNDP and partners for the 3rd phase to continue in the New Year.
Training and Capacity building
Training and capacity building of our members is a key component of our operations and is a continuous process. This is important to ensure our members are not only professional and ethical but also enables them to keep abreast with the rapid changes taking place in the industry.
Revised Constitution for SLAJ
At our last AGM in the city of BO, Southern Sierra Leone the members unanimously adopted a new constitution that will strengthen the Association’s status as a union, internal democracy, governance, and accountability.
Mr. President, we achieved all of these under the SALT (Stimulate. Appreciate. Learn. & Transfer) manifesto in my first term; and MEAL (Mobilize. Evaluate. Allocate. & Liberate) manifesto in my second term. Throughout the period we have provided a leadership of service, honesty, transparency, accountability, and respectability.
THE APPROACH:
Recognising the legitimacy of the government as well as its role as a critical partner.
Establishing mutual trust through respect and understanding of each other’s role in our democracy.
Holding government to account in a fair and responsible manner.
Collaboration with other media stakeholders and CSOs.
Choosing our battles and prioritizing achievable goals.
Dealing with issues through dialogue, consultation and engagement.
CHALLENGES
The Law:
Certain sections of the cyber law, and other media laws such as the defamation law are unprogressive.
We continue to work with other stakeholders to build advocacy for a review of Sec 44 of the cyber law.
Everybody involved in the art of expression, from journalists, authors, poets, artists, musicians, bloggers, politicians, even ordinary citizens should be concerned about this section which contains several offences that have the potential to undermine free speech and media freedom.
The economy of the media:
These are hard times for the legacy media. Not just in S/Leone but globally. No media house in the country is breaking even.
Advertising is not as forthcoming as the good old days.
Cost of production and overheads continue to soar/rise while return on investment is shrinking.
The media has not recovered from the shock of COVID 19 pandemic.
Government is still the biggest debtor to the media in nonpayment for government advertising. The media writes off Gov’t advertising as bad debts to an estimated tune of NLe500,000 annually.
Government advertising is also unfairly distributed with critical, independent and pro opposition media outlets missing out.
Online harassment:
Despite progress made in our international rating on press freedom, we continue to struggle with online harassment of journalists, especially women and critical and independent journalists.
The main perpetrators are political supporters at home and in the Diaspora. This is killing independent and public interest journalism.
Lack of commitment to reengineer the industry:
The media is still stuck in tradition, doing business in the old usual way, and not taking advantage of the digital space and innovation.
In our case, media pluralism is counterproductive. It is undermining the very essence of the media in S/Leone.
OPPORTUNITIES
There’s a lot more we can achieve if we continue to collaborate, work together, trust and respect each other.
Government meeting its outstanding commitment to the media: NaFPIM, land/office building for SLAJ National Headquarters.
The completion of the SLAJ Eastern Region office building which is about 70 percent up.
Legislating the annual gov’t subvention allocation to SLAJ.
Legislating Chapter 13 on Freedom of expression and of the press will be the first progressive media law in S/Leone and the entire sub region, and probably the continent.
Farewell to HE President Bio
Mr President, this is the final time I will stand on this podium to deliver a statement at the annual Presidential Media Cocktail as my tenure as President comes to an end in June 2025 when the Association goes into elections.
I became President of SLAJ in 2019, a year after you were elected President of the Republic. In my two terms as President we have collaborated with your government, especially your former and current ministers of information, to achieve great things for the media in Sierra Leone. It is has been a privilege and honour to work with you, and to even share this platform with you since 2019.
Let me take this opportunity to say thank you and wish us well in our future endeavours.
Long live SLAJ!
Long live freedom of expression and of the press!
Long live Sierra Leone!
#End
