By: Ilyasa Baa
Bombali District Secretary of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Abubakarr Taal has said the party highly welcomes la evel play field and equal opportunities to all political parties who want to use the main public broadcaster (SLBC) to disseminate information to their supporters.
He made this pronouncement following a two hours consultative meeting held in Makeni conducted by the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation, SLBC for political parties and other election management bodies in Makeni on Wednesday.
He thanked the SLBC for giving all political parties equal opportunities. He said the party is committed to spreading peace messages to members of the public, noting that the media have the power to make and break.
Bombali District Public Relations Officer of the main opposition All People’s Congress Party (APC) Samuel I Koroma expressed his appreciation over the meeting held by the Corporation. He said the meeting was timely, adding that they would ensure that the airspace is not used to disseminate hate speech.
Station Manager of SLBC Makeni, Nasiru Deen Koroma, said as a public broadcaster established by an Act of Parliament passed in 2010 said their programmes have been reviewed, noting that the station is committed to giving equal opportunities to all political parties contesting the forthcoming elections. He said the meeting was consultative and meant to keep political parties abreast with the latest development to set the stage for a peaceful electioneering process.
Harold Kamara of Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) called on political parties to desist from making hate speeches or trying to intimidate people. He said they would continue to engage political parties during and after the electioneering process.
The Mediate and Programmes Officer, North, at the Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), Mrs Lahai Janneh, said the media play an important role towards maintaining peace. She said the Commission would continue to monitor the electioneering processes.