It is seems that Yaya would engage in all sorts of shenanigans to keep
Gambians, especially Gambians residing abroad who rely so much on invaluable
private medium like The Independent and The Point for reliable and factual
reportages of things happening inside that country, in the Dark Ages. This
time around, in his further silly bids to muzzle the private media, the
idiot has resorted to retrogressive legislative fiats to control what
Gambians can read in the newspapers and or hear broadcasted in the airwaves
in the private media. This he hopes to achieve through retrogressive
legislative fiats like the proposed Media Commission Bill. Yaya shall
ultimately fail: in this age of "the death of distance", 24 hour news wires,
and the Internet, you cannot possibly sit on damaging infomation for no more
than, well, 24 hours. Let the moron get that into his thick skull, which,
BTW gets thicker by the seconds.
_______________________
Government Moves to Control Press: Media Commission Bill Before National
Assembly
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The Independent (Banjul)
April 15, 2002
Posted to the web April 15, 2002
PK Jarju
Banjul
The National Media Commission Bill is expected to be enacted today into law
by members of the National Assembly.
According to a draft copy of the Bill signed by the then Secretary of State
for Works Communication and Information Edward Singhateh and circulated to
all Assembly, it was prepared in accordance with section 210 of the 1997
constitution, which calls for its establishment.
With the government as the initiator of the Bill, it is widely expected that
APRC members of the National Assembly would vote massively for its
enactment.
If enacted, the Bill would provide a code of conduct for journalists and set
standards as to the content and quality of materials for publication or for
broadcast by the media. The Bill also includes provision for the
registration of practising media practitioners and media organizations.
It will also empower the proposed Commission to ensure the impartiality,
professionalism and independence of the media, promote the establishment and
maintenance of the highest journalistic standards in the mass media,
facilitate the registration of newspaper journals and broadcasting stations
in accordance with the constitution.
According to the Bill the proposed media Commission will also be mandated to
consider and determine complains from aggrieved individuals, bodies,
corporate against media practitioners and media organisations over the
content of any broadcast, newspaper or other information transmitted via the
mass media. This is supposedly to ensure and protect the rights and
privileges of media practitioners including those employed by the state in
the execution of their professional duties.
The Bill also proposed that the Commission would be given powers such as
that of summoning witnesses to its inquiry into a complaint whilst witnesses
are conferred with legal immunity for any evidence they may give before it
in an inquiry.
In order to buttress the Commission in its work, the Bill also makes
provision for an executive secretary and support staff as the Commission and
its staff is provided with legal immunity against civil actions for anything
done in the course of their functions. The Bill further recommends that
media practitioners who are not registered with professional media
organizations should register directly with the Commission whilst those
registered with media organizations shall have their names forwarded to the
Commission by those organisations.
According to the Bill the Commission can order a media practitioner to
apologize to a complainant and where found appropriate shall order that
media practitioner to publish or broadcast an apology to that complainant.
In order to give credence to this the Commission may publish the name of a
media practitioner reprimanded or fined it stipulates.
The Bill also lists some offences relating to willful, negligent or reckless
publication of false news, whilst there are also penalty provisions for
contravention of the Bill and shall make regulations with the approval of
the Secretary of State.
Meanwhile The Gambia Press Union and members of civil society have expressed
concern over the powers to be conferred on the Commission which they
described as a tribunal without any legal knowledge that can fine and
imprison journalists. They also criticised the idea of press registration,
which they argued could be used to deny license to many potential
journalists. The GPU particularly condemned what it calls many other
draconian provisions, which form part of the Bill, and vows to mount a legal
challenge in court.
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