By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
FREETOWN, Feb. 25 (232news.com) – The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, at the Official Launch of the SLAJ Golden Jubilee Journalism Welfare Fund disclosed that the fund will support independent investigative reporting to reinforce the role of journalists (and the media) to hold leaders to account and expose corruption in both government and private sectors, and influence policy decisions.
“However, there is another important aspect of welfare that the Journalism Welfare Fund is seeking to address. That has to do with journalists covering emergency situations and the likelihood for them, as frontline workers, to get injured or face harm physically or psychologically in the process. There’s also the aspect of independent journalism, which seems to be dying rapidly in our profession.”
The launch which took place on Valentine’s Day, 14th February, 2022 at the SLAJ Hall has been described as an important day in the history of SLAJ.
He said for the past 50 years, SLAJ has spent all of its energy and resources to promote and protect free speech and free media, defend journalists from abuse by State authorities and influential people. Little attention, if any, has been given to the thorny issue of journalists’ welfare. And their membership has grown from just a handful of practitioners to the current roll of about 800, spread across the country, following the just concluded golden jubilee membership drive.
Below is the full remarks of SLAJ President:
“Today, we add a new and very important chapter to the SLAJ mission: the SLAJ Golden Jubilee Journalism Welfare Fund. This is something we have been working on for the last two years and I thank God that this activity is happening right now.
When I decided to contest for the SLAJ Presidency about two and half years ago, the first thing I did was to go across the country with my small team to solicit the views of journalists on what kind of leadership they wanted at SLAJ and what were their priority needs. The majority spoke about welfare, welfare, welfare, and welfare. So without even knowing how I would address that I decided to include it in my manifesto as an action point. And I was honest and sincere enough to state to my colleagues that I would not be able to solve the welfare problem of journalists but I would make conscious and genuine efforts to seek the welfare of all journalists.
And as God would have it, with the historic repeal of the criminal libel law came the passing of the IMC Act 2020. The IMC Act 2020 is a huge step towards addressing welfare issues of journalists as every media house/owner is now required by law to pay journalists under their employ regularly and above the minimum wage, and their social security contributions. So the IMC Act 2020 seeks to address one aspect of the welfare of journalists in Sierra Leone bordering on conditions of service.
So how do we fund such a program when we are not a profit-making organization? The funds that we have in our various accounts are all tied to specific project activities for which we have to report on and be audited. Then I thought about opening a special savings account in one of our indigenous banks and investing in bearer bonds. So the idea of a welfare fund for journalists suddenly fell into place. I shared the idea with my Executive and they were in for it 100%.
The fact is that the very survival of democracy depends on journalism, and the very survival of journalism depends on the welfare and wellbeing of journalists. In Sierra Leone, this has not been easy, as journalists face innumerable pressures, more than in many other countries where journalism is more established.
At this critical time characterized by economic instability for most media houses, journalism is also facing several severe external challenges. Sierra Leone is very vulnerable to environmental and public health disasters having had its own share of disasters, such as the Ebola outbreak (2014-2016), the land/mudslide (2017), COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent Wellington fire disaster, to name but a few. Journalists are routinely called upon to cover disasters after disasters and under tremendous economic and wellbeing pressures. For instance, a recent Bournemouth University-SLAJ study that looked into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic showed that 86% of journalists in Sierra Leone were under significant financial difficulties and 76% faced increased psychologic ill-health.
The JWF is open to registered and paid-up members of SLAJ only, who have suffered distress or injury in the line of duty: physical injury or psychological trauma.
Special savings account for the JWF has been opened at the Rokel Commercial Bank (RCB), Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone. 80% of the seed fund shall be invested in Bearer Bonds which will yield dividends annually, in addition to the bank’s interests for savings.
There shall be an independent Welfare Committee and a Welfare Officer to manage, coordinate, and review issues relating to the JWF. The Welfare Committee shall serve as an Advisory Board for the administration of the fund, and shall suggest ways of attracting more funders to contribute to the fund.
We are working with our partners at Bournemouth University, the MRCG, and the Mass Communications Department at FBC, USL, to develop a policy around the fund.
Our ambition is to make sure we develop a sustainable fund, one that will last beyond my leadership. For this, we are working with national and international partners who have a genuine interest in strengthening democracy and democratic institutions in Sierra Leone. We need your cooperation. We call on organizations to support this initiative as we look forward to doing fundraising events in the near future.
We also call on the Government of Sierra Leone, which has shown tremendous goodwill for the development of the media, to also contribute to the fund just as they did for the National Sports Development Fund.
Let me now say special thanks to the three foundation sponsors Mercury International, Orange SL, and Rokel Commercial Bank for believing in this initiative and committing contributions from your limited resources to see the fund kick-off.
Special thanks to our academic partners at Bournemouth University with whom we have been working since 2021, from COVID-19 to this fund, and also helping with reporting guidelines on disasters, including the Wellington fire disaster. BU has been providing research and policy consultancy to strengthen journalism and disaster resilience in Sierra Leone.
We also want to thank the MRCG and the Mass Communications Department at FBC, USL for also providing technical advice.
Many thanks to the SLAJ Advisory Council, especially Kelvin Lewis, Umaru Fofana, and Dr. Julius Spencer for the necessary advice on such initiatives.
I also thank my Executive, the Regional Heads of SLAJ North, East, and South, and heads of affiliate bodies for their support and cooperation throughout.
Let me conclude by stating that good journalism needs support. This fund is for good journalism. A welfare support scheme is critical for journalism, which in turn is essential for our democracy and for a strong and vibrant society. It is a small beginning but we hope it will grow beyond expectation.”
