February 9, 2021
BY: Sulaiman Stom Koroma
The Minister of Information and Communication Abdul Raman Rado Swaray has reiterated government’s commitment to continue to provide subvention the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists. He made this statement when formally launching SLAJ @ 50, at the Herry Yansaneh hall in Freetown.
The Minister continued that, nobody should misunderstand the subvention process as a bribe, because he said, in other countries like Senegal, their governments constructed buildings for the journalists association and continue to support them in other areas as required.
Minister Swaray continued that, with the strives been undertaken by the current executive of SLAJ, it is possible that they will turn the sod for their new building because he said, the President has instructed him to work with the Ministry of Lands to find a piece of land where SLAJ will occupy.
The Minister of Information and Communication congratulated SLAJ for celebrating 50 years. He said at 50, a man should have charted his correct path in life, he must have grown and achieved self-realization.
He continued that, during these 50 years of existence of SLAJ, many political parties have come and gone but SLAJ has never changed its stance in being apolitical to succumb to the dictate of any political party.
He said that, the SLPP Government of President Bio will not seek to unduly influence SLAJ nor will they compromise their independence.
“This is because President Bio wants to build a stronger watchdog institution that is why his government is ready to contribute to the viability of SLAJ as a partner in development.
He concluded by saying that the media has changed over the years, citing the emergent A-Z Multi-Media Cooperation as an example of how the media has advanced with a masterpiece building and first-class equipment.
In his statement, the President of SLAJ Ahmed Sahid Nasralla said that, for the past 50 years SLAJ has been able to maintain its independence and integrity. He said in a country where ugly politics has crept into all facets of society and organizations, SLAJ has remained a very solid organization that has enjoyed the trust and confidence of its members as well as the public. As an association he said, they have been able to capacitate their regional bodies, making them viable and semi-autonomous as they carry out their planned activities.
Mr. Nasralla said that, if SLAJ was a man, no doubt at 50 he will have lofty plans for his children and grandchildren. He said that, SLAJ will position itself to fit into the next generation. “Our next 50 years should see us better than we are today- in terms of membership, welfare issues, professionalism, patriotism, and self-reliance. The kind of SLAJ we want to see should be the concern of every member of this noble Association,” he said.
He maintained that, as an executive, they have drawn up a calendar of events that will run for the whole year, because to them this is a once in a lifetime event, so they want to give it all the razzmatazz that it deserves. He disclosed that SLAJ is going to host events throughout the country. Their regional executives will also be having activities at their district level.
He said that, the celebration is significant because they are celebrating the death of the obnoxious Criminal Libel Law.
“It would not be appropriate to say we have come of age, because that happened 29 years ago. But today we begin another journey to climb to the mountain of professionalism and economic prosperity for the media in Sierra Leone. So it’s a journey,” he said.
One of the founding members of the association, Dr. Bernadette Cole said that, as soon as the association was founded, it became an organization that was a force to reckon with in Sierra Leone and other countries abroad.
She said their main focus at that time, was to train journalists as there were no formal training institutions for journalists.
She maintained that, her experience working with other major institutions in the world gave her the idea of forming the Mass communication Department at Fouray Bah College, which has now produced many graduates and professionals working in major institution in and out of the country.
She noted that some 50 years ago, brave men and women came together and founded an association that will serve as a torchbearer for not only a profession that is called journalism but for society at large.
At a time when the country had just introduced the one-party, and critical voices were almost silenced and a law that was like an albatross on the neck of journalists had been introduced to silence a beautiful profession that comforts the afflicted, SLAJ was born.
