By
Kemo Cham
APA-Freetown (Sierra Leone) Aggrieved
by poor working condition, the staff of Sierra Leone’s struggling national
public broadcaster, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), have on
Tuesday embarked on an indefinite strike action. According to reports, the
protesting staff are demanding the resignation of the management over its
failure to provide them the necessary aide to do their job.
They say they have no equipment like computers, cameras and
even
reliable electricity supply. They also accused the
management of
condoning political interference in the public service
broadcaster.
SLBC was transformed into what was
supposed to be an independent broadcaster from the former Sierra Leone
Broadcasting Services (SLBS) under a United Nations funded project meant to
strengthen the country’s
democracy. This was after the end of the civil war.
Like many other public institutions, SLBS had been found to have contributed to
the factors that led to the civil war, serving as a propaganda tool for the
former regime of Siaka Steven and Joseph Momoh.
The resulting SLBC was meant to
function independently, without interference. But the Act paving the way for
its creation also provided for the government to provide an annual subvention
to fund its affairs.
According to reports on Tuesday, the
Director General of the broadcaster, Elvis Gbanbom Hallowel, claimed he has
never received a dime from the government as subvention since his appointment
in 2010.
SLBC has
also been accused of bias towards the incumbent party, particularly during election
periods.
Critics
say the provision in the Act creating SLBC allowing the president to appoint
the Director General and his deputy has created the condition for political
interference.
KC/APA
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