A row has broken out between Sierra Leonean parliamentarians and the journalists over the use of funds allocated to Members of Parliament to help fight the Ebola outbreak, with some MPs calling for censorship of the media`s coverage of how money allocated to them is being spent. The MPs on Tuesday summoned the head of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), which is the media regulatory body, and the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) to register their disappointment. The MPs are particularly unhappy with the media`s focus on funds allocated for them to sensitize their constituents. Each MP received 63 million Leones (US$15, 000). But there soon emerged allegations of that some of them pocketed part of the funds. The parliamentarians hold the media responsible for providing room for the display of grievances. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Cherno Bah, said some of the reports in the media amounted to hate speech. The minority leader and member of the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party, Bernadette Lahai, called for censorship of radio stations and newspapers` on their coverage. She said there was risk of turning Sierra Leone into another Rwanda, in reference to that country`s 1994 genocide. Justice Minister Frank Kargbo said journalists who defied the state of emergency by making irresponsible publications risk “detention without trial.” But in his reaction, SLAJ President, Kelvin Lewis, said politicians should look at their backyard, citing the conduct of some people in their handling of the epidemic.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 16:37:19 +0000
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