PRESENTATION TO THE CONSTITUTION REVIEW COMMITTEE ON THE 11TH MARCH 2014-0 TOPIC: THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN THE CONSTITUTION REVIEW PROCESS IN SIERRA LEONE, OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Introduction One of the strongest recommendations of the Lome Peace Agreement was to review the 1991 Constitution in order to consolidate the peace and promote pluralistic democratic culture putting premium on freedom, justice and mass participation of citizenry in increasing political and social accountability in post war Sierra Leone. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report of 2004 in the same way recommended reviewing the Constitution to reflect contemporary democratic framework. Why is the media core in this process? The active participation of everyone must be the goal of the media. Greater participation and consensus –building in the formulation and implementation of national economic and social policies at all levels, including the identification and elimination of crude or draconian laws and the creation of new ones that foster participatory democracy count on media performance. The media is required to disseminate information about the constitution review process and at the same time help the public to interpret or discuss the political and social ramifications regarding the process and procedure for informed decision-making. The national and regional media should make every effort to champion the cause of popular participation and publicize the activities and programs thereof and generally provide members of the public access to the media for the dissemination of information, education, opinions, recommendations or positions on matters emerging in the review process etc. Or the media to accommodate freedom of opinions from everyone responsibly, tolerate differences in order to accept consensus on issues as well as ensure the effective participation of people and their institutions or organizations to show ownership and accelerate confidence building in the outcome of the review. The media must reflect in its reportage the nature of parties’ collaboration, the presence of democratic institutions such as civil society groups, trade unions, peoples’ grass-root organizations and professional associations in discussing the thematic issues worthy for the review of the 1991 Constitution so that the gaps and recommendations could be addressed unanimously. Thus, this paper is discussing the role of the media in the constitution reviews process as follows: i. To surveillance the process for political and social accountability The media should monitor all actors and procedures regarding the process so that there would be no manipulation or corruption. If there are then the media should report them professionally without hindering the outcome of the review. ii. To provide timely, accurate and relevant information for public education and mobilization Media reportage is very useful in the area of mass information, and public education on critical subjects regarding human rights, protection of the environment, political accountability, type of representations and powers to the three organs of government. iii. Setting agenda on major critical subjects including the powers of the Executive, the office of the Attorney General, the rights of women, freedom of expression and press freedom, chieftaincy, land tenure system etc. Giving information with activating the public sphere for consensus building might not be fruitful in a participatory framework. This is why all media (radio, newspaper, television and internet) should have a participatory content format. iv. Mediating and managing conflict in the process of reviewing the Constitution through independent reporting. v. Special advocacy for socially marginalized set of people in the communities Looking at the demand for high performance of the media in this process, it is worthy to discuss the opportunities and challenges of engaging the media in the process. Opportunities i. Media diversity- the media landscape is developing with diversity of ownership and production opportunities are now giving much opportunity for audience or listeners participation. There are community radio stations in most part of the country. These stations if used strategically could foster public education and mobilization by way of using local languages for jingles, talk shows, discussions and news features regarding the review process. Television, though not as spread as radio, has potential for audiovisual impact by showing how the CRC may be engaging different stakeholders for their input into the process. Television is in Kenema apart from Freetown. Both stations are public service broadcasters. Newspapers are useful in the area of news, commentary and editorial. These content are very useful in increasing accountability at all levels. The ICTs are opportunity for audience participation in dialogue or debates ii. Political calendar-The next election is yet far off. This means the media could concentrate on this issue instead of diverting to political reporting. Similar opportunity exists for engaging politicians since inter party or intra parties conflict are not serious as we approach elections. iii. Active democracy-Today Sierra Leoneans are actively using the media respond to public issues in different ways. They know about press or media advocacy techniques. iv. Media intellectual capacity- based on training, seminars, workshops and media education journalism has improved intellectually. This means some journalists can demystify some of the social and political ramifications bordering on public understanding of the procedure and process. Challenges i. Notwithstanding the intellectual advancement said above, journalists need training to understand what is constitutional review? Why to review? What are the implications of certain provisions? What attempts have been made? How could this process benefit the democracy in Sierra Leone? ii. Political economy of the mass media- The problem of profit and politics if not manage may undermine media engagement and performance. This is public interest and thus social responsibility should be the first premium ethos guiding information giving. iii. Access to the people- the road network and farming may pose challenge in reaching some people for their perception or reactions. This means funding should be made available for such reporting including all shades of opinion. iv. Partnership and networking- the commitment of different partners to was mass mobilization, civic education and peace-building is very crucial if there is no money to do. v. Inadequate knowledge on contesting provisions in the 1991 Constitution is another challenging factor. How can the public suggest or recommend any adjustment is they don’t know what exists and its implications? vi. Incriminating free speech and opinion By Tonya Musa Lecturer in Mass Communication, FBC musatonya@yahoo
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 04:33:46 +0000
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