4 April, 2008

Salmatta Salaam Coker, Freetown

FBC Encourages Media to Dialogue with Government

At the opening of a three day workshop on enhancing accountability through interaction at Jarvouhey house, on Tuesday 1st April, 2008, the Director of the Institute of Library Information and Communication Studies (INSLICS) at Fourah Bay College (FBC) said that modalities are being fetched for the media and civil society to dialogue with the government for the improvement of the lives of the populace.

We are encouraging the media and civil society to create a platform to engage the government in sustainable dialogue on the content of its manifesto and its development programs, Bernadette Cole said.  She said that the objective of the training is to augment interaction between the government and the governed by sensitizing the media about issues of governance. She noted that civil society and the media should engage the government for meaningful discourse. Cole said the University expects that this will give the government the opportunity to be accountable to the people on a sustained basis. She noted that this will enhance access by the public to relevant information on issues that are supposed to better the lives of people as promised in political manifestos.

The secretary General of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Mr. Ibrahim Karim Sei in his speech, said that SLAJ as an association appreciates the training as it is very useful to the membership. He said Radio Stations and Newspapers are very important in the society as journalists are crucial in any democratization process. Addressing the workshop on behalf of the Westminster Foundation, Paul Turay said that the organization funded the training assist in the developmental process of the country and to maintain sustainable interaction between the media, civil society and the government.

Delivering a speech on behalf of the Minister of Information, Mr. Kalilu Totangi said that government wants to be visible in what they are doing. He called on journalists to make good use of the training.

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