By Marilyn King
FREETOWN, June 14 (SALONE TIMES) – The National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) last Friday 10th June held a press Seminar for media practitioners at the Radisson Blu, Mammy Yoko Hotel, Aberdeen in Freetown with the object of the seminar was to educate media practitioners on their processes and procedures as a Trust.
In his opening remarks, Independent Media Commission (IMC) Executive Secretary, Khalil Kallon, thanked NASSIT for organizing the Press Seminar for Media Practitioners.
He said NASSIT Act came into being in 2001 as a Social Security Scheme, to provide retirement benefit for workers and their beneficiaries.
He noted that, following the outcry of journalists across the country about their welfare and the laws that were disturbing them, the seminar was called to deliberate on some of those issues.
He pointed out that part 5 of the 1965 Public Order Act was repealed and replaced with the IMC Act of 2020, and after the enactment of the IMC Act, issues of welfare were legislated.
He continued that IMC particularly enchanted in their Act issues around compliance with NASSIT Act to be their priority.
The IMC Executive Secretary explained further that because NASSIT was concerned particular of journalists’ welfare and the media in general, they partnered with IMC for such seminar.
“We have several meetings to popularize the IMC Act of section 24,3 and section 29,3, we also held meetings across the country to popularize that particular section so that media practitioners, media owners and media managers will be beneficiaries of the NASSIT Scheme. There was a huge outcry by SLAJ, Reporters Union, Women in the Media all about welfare issue”.
The President of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasrella, explained the need for media owners and media workers to pay their NASSIT dues.
He continued to say SLAJ wants to ensure that media workers and their owners pays their IMC dues.
He went on to say that SLAJ is also looking into the media workers’ salaries and for them to be well paid through that their NASSIT contributions will be paid.
The SLAJ President called on NASSIT to go beyond to help to invest in the media. He said media investment and advertisement should be given to media houses, adding that advertisement can boost media houses because the cost of printing is very expensive these days.
“The media houses have to pay their staff, therefore the media houses need more advertisements, through that income will come to media institutions”.
In his keynote address the Director General of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust, Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, said they believed as an institution that public education should be facilitated.
He expressed their profound gratitude to their membership across the country, and also what they have done.
He noted that couple of weeks ago the press was behind NASSIT, for NASSIT to come out plain about their investment across the country.
He disclosed that they hired international consultant company by the name of Price Water House (PWC) and they have delivered the report to the Minister of Social Security, indicating where they are, and the way forward of their investments.
He concluded that a construction of district office in Moyamba is ongoing, and it is the first district office that NASSIT is constructing.
