By Ibrahim Jabatti
On the 1st October 2021, the National Council for Civic Development ( NaCCED) engaged thirty Community Radio Station Managers in a partnership conference at the M. J. Swaray Hall in Bo City. The two key deliverables of this conference were: provide training in media and broadcasting, and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support NaCCED work.
One of the key results in NaCCED’s 2021 annual plan is the development of congenial and mutually beneficial working relationship between the Council and Community Radio Stations across the country, to support us accomplish the Council’s outreach endeavours. To accomplish this, the Council has been in consultations with 30 Radio Station Managers mostly former members of the Federation Link arrangement that existed between Community Radios and former Open Government Initiative (OGI) governance program.
Addressing the august gathering in Bo, the Chairman of NaCCED Mr. Ibrahim Kalilu Totangi noted that when he assumed the position as Chairman of NaCCED one of his portfolios was OGP. He went on to say that he, “understood then that the OGI that was dealing with OGP aspect of governance had a relationship with Media Houses through a Federation Link network.” Mr. Totangi stressed that he acknowledged the critical role the media play in the work started at NaCCED and he has tried to maintain that relationship “to help NaCCED reach out to the people of Sierra Leone through very fine message delivery that will help bring them up to speed with governance issues to help them make informed decisions”, he paused. The Chairman further noted a few big accomplishments of the Council over the short period, which bother on production of Civics curriculum, seven text books, training of teachers, among a host of others. He informed the gathering that the materials were submitted to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE) for necessary actions. He thanked the Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh for his recent announcement that Civics is one of the three subjects recently added to the school curriculum.
The Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development Rev Williams who represented the Minister Dr Francis Kai Kai said, “As a Ministry we are delighted to witness and to be associated with this epoch-making media training and MOU signing Conference with Community Station Managers.” He added that he is pleased to acknowledge and applaud Mr. Totangi and his team for their tireless civic education and awareness raising efforts in the country.
Mr. Abdulai Bangura (Esq.) PPRC Chairman made it clear that radio stations are conduit through which information is disseminated to the public, good or bad. On that strength, he pointed out how important Community Radio Stations are. The Chairman stressed the importance of censorship before putting out messages. “When politicians come to radio stations, always try to know what they want to say,” he cautioned.
The Minister of Information and Communication Mr, Mohammed Rahman Swaray the keynote speaker, acknowledged the great strides made by the Council to deliver the President’s vision. According to him, “NaCCED is punching above her weight”. This statement is founded on the premise that NaCCED has achieved so much in a very short period since its establishment. A testament of that was the accolades the organisation received from parliamentarians on various occasions.
The training session on Media and Broadcasting, and the MoU Review were facilitated by two towering figures in the media industry – Mr. Umaru Fofanah and Dr. Issac Massaquoi respectively. Both sessions were very engaging as participants actively contributed to the discussions. Review of the draft MoU was done in plenary, followed by a symbolic signing of the document with 30 radio station managers.