SIERRA LEONE-MEDIA: Press Riled by New Regulations

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Apr 11 1997 (IPS) - The government of Sierra Leonean President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah has come in for criticism from the media over new regulations which they feel are aimed at running some of his administration’s most vocal critics out of business.

The new press regulations lay down the qualifications editors must have and, if enforced, they would affect many local newspapers, which are already subjected to police raids and the detention of their journalists.

“This is the worst era for vocal journalists and I believe the frequent arrests and detentions, raids on newspaper houses and the new press regulations have all combined to make a mockery of our new democracy,” commented Foday Fosky, a staff writer at the ‘Weekly Echo’ newspaper.

Under the guidelines, a newspaper editor should have a first degree from a university recognised by a press council to be set up soon, and at least 10 years’ experience in journalism, including five years in a senior position in an established periodical.

Those who do not meet these requirements can work as editors if they have an advanced certificate or diploma in journalism from an institution recognised by the council and no less than 10 years experience in a senior post in a newspaper, or if they have worked at least 15 years in the profession, including five as editor.

All newspaper proprietors have to apply for the re-registration of their publications, which will be conditioned on their meeting the requirements.

Explaining why the government has taken this step, Information and Broadcasting Minister Abdul Thorlu Bangura told IPS “there are many young unseasoned journalists who didn’t go through the right apprenticeship. The older and more experienced ones are much more reasonable.”

“When dealing with some of our journalists, you have to treat them like 18-year-olds,” he charged.

Analysts predict that the new requirements will cause more than a dozen newspapers to disappear from the newsstands.

There are 40 periodicals registered with the Ministry of Information, although some are not published regularly. Many are owned by their editors who depend heavily on advertising to keep afloat since they operate on meagre resources and cater for a limited public.

Newspapers hardly circulate outside the capital because the countryside, where 80 percent of the population live, is plagued by insecurity. Moreover, 85 percent of the roughly 4.6 million Sierra Leoneans are illiterate and it is estimated that one newspaper is shared by at least 10 people.

About a quarter of the periodicals are believed to be edited by young university graduates who only recently entered the profession and do not meet the new criteria. They, in particular, are alarmed.

“The SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) government is hell- bent on killing the vibrant and independent press in the country by invoking such conditions,” 27-year-old Sorie Fofana, editor of the thrice-weekly ‘Vision’ and a 1995 graduate of the Milton Margai College of Education told IPS on Friday.

Sheka Tarawali, editor of the ‘Spotlight’ newspaper, isn’t happy either. “The conditions are too hard and are obviously aimed at shutting down the most vocal papers which publish uncomplimentary things about the government,” he charged. “They know that some of us cannot meet the requirements.”

Tarawali, jailed recently for a month for ‘contempt of parliament’ after his paper accused Tejan Kabbah of bribing legislators to approve his nominees to state positions, graduated from the University of Sierra Leone in 1994 and has only been practising journalism for three years.

Life has been tough for the independent press under the Tejan Kabbah administration which, in March 1996, became Sierra Leone’s first democratic government in 25 years. Five editors are now being tried on charges such as libel, contempt of parliament and even spying. More than seven reporters and editors have been imprisoned in the past year.

International press-freedom watchdogs such as the New York- based Committee to Protect Journalists, Article 19 in London, and Reporters sans Frontieres in Paris have voiced concern over what they see as the difficult conditions under which critical journalists operate in the West African country.

Commenting on the new requirements, opposition politician Sam Bockarie said: “I find this ridiculous because the SLPP government had massive support from the press in its first year of rule and I believe the role of press in helping the democratic process is commendable.”