UN Resident Coordinator's keynote address at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists Golden Jubilee AGM

Mr Chairman, Bishop Charles A.M Campbell,

The Mayor, Bo City Council, His Worship Harold Logic Tucker,

The Paramount Chief, Kakua Chiefdom, PC Lappia Bioma

The Minister of Information & Communications, Mr Mohamed Rahman Swaray.

The Chairman, Independent Media Commission, Mr George Khoryama,

Mr President, Sierra Leone Association of Journalist, Mr Ahmed Sahid Nasralla.

The Heads of the constituent bodies of SLAJ

Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen,

Sierra Leone has had a very long and rich media history—the first African modern printing press arrived in the country in 1794; the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (now Corporation) was established in 1934; and, during the 1960s, Sierra Leone was regarded as the Mecca for journalists across the continent. More recently, journalists have played a key role in the successful advocacy for the repeal of the criminal libel law.

Ladies and gentlemen, this rich history and significant milestones, despite the challenges of being a journalist in a country like Sierra Leone justify our celebrations here today, in the southern city of Bo, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of SLAJ at this Annual General Meeting 2021.

Allow me to start by giving my warmest congratulations to SLAJ on this auspicious Golden jubilee celebration. I do so on behalf of the United Nations in Sierra Leone and in my capacity as the Resident Coordinator leading about 21 UN agencies, funds, and programmes.

Today’s occasion calls for us to reflect on the theme, “Looking Inwards: Towards a strong and unified SLAJ and a free and professional media”. This theme, “Looking Inwards”, incite us to ask, “where do we start”? I used ‘we’ advisedly because, and for full disclosure, I used to be a newspaper columnist.

Mr President of SLAJ, permit me to speak to you as someone who knows a bit about the journalism profession. I have been in this country for eight months and I have been following closely and with keen interest the way the media conducts itself in its quest to being the conscience of the people. I have also been briefed on the strong partnership the UN has had with the media in Sierra Leone especially in efforts to repeal the seditious libel law, and in the areas of education where the UN was part of efforts to review and developed a national curriculum for mass communication and in the process, a PhD in the discipline.

The media landscape has evolved and with it comes a myriad of opportunities as well as challenges. As we look inwards, the opportunity to, for instance, capitalize on and make use of the social media space cannot be over-emphasized.  But while some of those that you will compete to share such platforms with may get a free pass for their actions or inactions, professional media practitioners would continue to be held to higher standards of accountability and ethics by society.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Now, moving forward, we have to take a moment and look back not only on our achievements but also on what we could improve upon. I dare say that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by all countries in 2015 and promote development that balances social, economic and environmental sustainability, have been underreported in Sierra Leone.

Yet, the SDGs give us a platform to mobilize broad-based actions to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs, each of which has highly ambitious targets and indicators, require a whole-of-society approach. They provide us with guidance and metrics to measure our progress in terms of leaving no one behind and reaching the furthest behind first. All 17 SDGs are interrelated, so that action on one will affect outcomes in others.   

With only 10 years left to achieve the Global Goals by the 2030 deadline, there is an urgent need to step up action. It is our last chance to act. Globally, we have seen remarkable progress: extreme poverty and child mortality rates are falling, and access to energy and education is rising. But the pace of progress is too slow or decelerating as a result of COVID-19. Moreover, hunger is on the rise in countries like Sierra Leone, and global greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb, while the world’s most vulnerable continue to be most affected by conflict, inequality, injustice, and climate change. Achievement of the SDGs requires investments and actions from the Government, international development partners, the private sector, civil society and certainly the media.

The media has a very important role in informing the general public about the SDGs, inspiring SDG awareness especially among young people, and setting in motion the drive for the acceleration of the achievement of SDGs through agenda-setting advocacy. Relatedly, the media can amplify SDG-related messages and shine a light on the most critical current SDG-related issues in Sierra Leone.

It is of utmost importance, in the context of Sierra Leone, that media professionals are conversant with development trends and most certainly with the SDGs and are able to report on these, being able to identify information sources and ensuring therefore data-based reporting on the SDGs. In particular, the media can help highlight with such data the extent of progress being made towards achieving the different SDGs and the grounds that still need to be covered in the lead-up to the target date of 2030.

One major lesson that we have learnt from the developing countries that have successfully transitioned from low-income status to upper-middle-income status is the power of sound economic and social policies and the sustained, disciplined implementation of these policies. 

But policies and how well they are implemented are largely the result of decisions made by political office-holders.  And the media has a key role to play in ensuring that citizens are well-informed about policies and governance processes so as to justifiably demand more of their leaders.  Relatedly, now that we are fully into the 2021-2023 electoral cycle, the media must through balanced and objective reporting help to address fears, rumours and misinformation that help to fuel intergroup distrust, tensions, conflicts, and violence before, during and after elections. The media must devote more energy to raising critical issues that help to positively shape the thinking of both the voters and those to be voted for with a focus on key development challenges and the needed solutions.

This decade of action for the SDGs is a call for all members of society to take their stand and make their contribution to the world that we want. I challenge SLAJ to more intentionally act in line with its members’ desire for a better Sierra Leone. Can the association, for example, create the space for women to successfully contest for the positions of Secretary-General and President? Can it work actively to encourage more persons living with disabilities to enter the noble profession of journalism?  As SLAJ celebrates its golden jubilee, our wish is for the media in Sierra Leone to become an even stronger force for good in the lives and life chances of ordinary Sierra Leoneans.    

I thank you all for your kind attention.