By: Mohamed M. Sesay
During his Fifth Presidential Media Cocktail speech staged at the Country Lodge , Hill Station in Freetown, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio reminded galaxy of journalists that in December 2018, when he first hosted the Presidential Media Cocktail, it was the first time he met with journalists after his election as President. He therefore, expressed optimism that five years on, he has again met with journalists for the last time which would definitely epitomize his re-election in June 2023 in appreciation of his laudable effort in promoting Press Freedom.
“ If our relationship was a marriage, it would have been like a husband who has done everything the wife has asked for and now the husband has only one request to make of his wife. If our relationship was a marriage, it would have been like a husband who has done everything the wife has asked for and now the husband has only one request to make of his wife. Our journey has been truly remarkable. From the Kevin Lewis administration which ushered in my government to the present Ahmed Nasralla administration, we have fulfilled the promise of our generation: to secure a free, independent and pluralistic media”, he said.
President Bio intimated journalists that after decades of unfulfilled promises on the repeal of Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965, together they started a journey in 2018. Even though you walked through the valley of the shadow of apprehension, he said journalist feared nothing; for he was with them ; his 2018 manifesto and promises comforted journalists. Together, he said his government delivered the bravest legal reform in the media which is the repeal of the criminal libel law in October 2020. And tonight, he said not one journalist is in jail for the practice of journalism, no journalist is in fear of death or imprisonment for the practice of journalism.
President Bio also edified that according to an article published by the International Journalists’ Network in July this year titled: “In Sierra Leone, a rare opening for Press Freedom”, it states “Amid the spread of disinformation-fueled ‘opinion media’ in democratic societies, and government censorship and propaganda in autocracies, press freedom is declining globally. He assured that Sierra Leone however, is moving in the other direction which is the New Direction in terms of promoting Press Freedom. He also mentioned that the West African nation rose 29 places in Reporters Without Borders’ 2022 press freedom rankings, to 46th globally comparable to Uruguay, South Korea and the United States”. He stressed that in the 2022 Press Freedom rankings, Sierra Leone performed better than Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Nigeria, Rwanda and many others.
In 2020, President Bio reminded that his Government enacted the Independent Media Commission Act which has ensured more professionalism in the media, more opportunities for investment and better conditions of service for journalists. In five years, he said his Government has also supported more media institutions and journalists with capacity building through training and partnerships.
In fulfilment his manifesto promise towards the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), President Bio gratified journalists that his “Talk and Do” Government in five years, has not only delivered on this promise but also increased SLAJ annual subvention from Le 250, 000, 000 (Two hundred and Fifty Million Old Leones) to Le500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Old Leones). President Bio also gave a glad tidings to journalists that he has instructed the Ministry of Finance to increase the annual SLAJ subvention from Le500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Old Leones) to Le700,000,000 (Seven Hundred Million Old Leones).
President Bio continued that promoting free and pluralistic media, supporting media institutions to achieve efficiency and protecting journalists, are not just mere words but rather they are the wheels that would move the second term of his Presidency. “In five years, I have given you so much but tonight I ask for only one thing: stay with me, stay the course and let us finish this journey together”, President Bio concluded.