Entries from May 2008
Sierra Leone gets more then its fair share of bad press. It seems that nearly every week a new study, list or statistic is published that places the country at or close to the bottom of the “ranking du jour”.
Perhaps most notably the country is working to shake the stigma that comes with being ranked the world’s least developed nation, which, according to last year’s UN Human Development Index, places Sierra Leone 177th out the 177 countries judged. Conflict countries, Afghanistan and Iraq for instance, were omitted from the list due to lack of reliable statistics. This however is a minor detail; for all intents and purposes Sierra Leone is world’s least developed country.
It’s seems rare here for an NGO to deliver a speech or report without mentioning this fact. Choosing not to mince words, or pass up an opportunity for dramatics, those in the development community often bluntly refer to Sierra Leone as “the planets poorest country”. The moniker gets tossed around so much I half expect it to be printed on the country’s currency.
Some of these labels are well founded and serve a purpose; some are skewed and seem instead to serve a particular agenda. Others appear simply to be sensational, helping to further Sierra Leone’s reputation as a hotbed for underdevelopment.
A study released late last month by the New York based “Committee to Protect Journalists” placed Sierra Leone near the top of their “Impunity Index”. Second only to Iraq, Sierra Leone has, according to the CPJ’s list, more unsolved murders of journalists then any other country in Africa.
I’m not disputing the validity of the study’s numbers, and I’m certainly not negating the right that local reporters have to safety and security. But I do worry that Sierra Leone’s new standing as the “world’s second most dangerous place to be a journalist” will do nothing to help repair the country’s tarnished repute. According to the study the murder of nine Sierra Leonean journalists, occurring between 1998 and 2007, remain unsolved. The most recent case dates back to 2005. While this number is unacceptable I do question whether it’s truly reflective of the current state of media in the country.
One of the main problems with the survey is that it fails to address whether the real issue is the risk facing Sierra Leonean journalists, or the ineptitude of the national police force. Because the “impunity index” only takes into account unsolved cases there’s reason to believe that more journalist murders may well take place in other countries, it’s simply that their police forces are more successful at finding and convicting the perpetrators. Having already had a number of encounters with the police during my three months in the country I’m prone to thinking that the core issue is more likely to be related to the poor quality of law enforcement.
The time period measured also falls squarely within the bloodiest years of Sierra Leone’s civil war. Journalists were murdered during this time, yes, yet so were countless others who threatened the influence of the vicious rebel regime. Since the end of the war the study found only one murder of a journalist remaining unsolved.
There are undoubtedly a number of problems that plague the media sector in Sierra Leone. The country lacks a formal freedom of information act, liable laws are too strict and the vast majority of working journalists fail to make a livable wage. While these are important issues they don’t indicate a serious threat to the lives of journalists. Instead the CPJ’s “Impunity Index” lays yet another unfortunate distinction upon a country whose tourism brochure could already read like a grizzly Stephen King novel.
As a journalist I’m all for letting the truth speak for itself, but the sad reality is that the truth in Sierra Leon often has many faces, choosing which to display can either help or hurt the image of the country. While Sierra Leone’s new standing as the “world’s second most dangerous place to be a journalist” may not be truly representative of the nation’s media sector, it is indicative of the Sierra Leone’s struggle against labels.
Tags: Sierra Leone
Impressions of life and work in West Africa.
JHR Trainer, Rachael Borlase, is currently working on a six-part series about life and work in Sierra Leone. For the next several months, her adventures and reflections will be broadcast on CBC Radio throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
In this segment, Rachael explores her new job and home.
Tags: Sierra Leone
Officials say more than 40% of Ashanti region residents have now registered with Ghana’s nascent National Health Insurance Scheme, with the goal of 60% by year’s end. But the cost of registration is a hard sell for almost half the population struggling to get by on a dollar a day. Kinks in the system and barriers to prompt care have prompted administrators to take measures to improve access and deliver service where it’s needed most.
Akwesi Asamoah Prempeh reports.
Tags: Ghana
Host: Evans Mensah
Produced by Steven Anti and Alison Lang
World Press Freedom day was instituted by the United Nations in 1993 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press when it comes to developing member-states. It is also to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The theme for this year’s celebration is Freedom of the Press, empowerment and participation of the people. Ghana has experienced press controls in the past, particularly under the rule of former president - and military man - Jerry Rawlings. JOY NEWS reporter Steven Anti and JHR staffer Alison Lang went for a stroll around Accra’s media houses to ask some of the country’s top journalists about the obstacles Ghanaian reporters face in the post-Rawlings era.
Tags: Ghana
“In a country with an unemployment rate of nearly 80% it is hard to take seriously the concerns of those lucky enough to have an income”. While the words of labour ministry spokesperson Edmond Y. Kamara sound blunt and insensitive, it’s hard to deny that they also make a fair deal of sense.
Still the fact that local stone breakers in Makeni work tedious, long hours for very little pay grants them a right to grievance.
A mere few hundred metres behind Radio Maria, my home base during my time in Makeni, sits an informal granite quarry that provides work for between fifty and a hundred men, women and children. Numbers fluctuate as workers are consistently unable to work due to chronic labour related injuries.
Leonard Massaquoi, Radio Maria reporter and journalism student, and I recently visited the job site located at the base of Makeni’s Marian Hill. Leonard had asked me to accompany him as he investigated claims of unfit working conditions.
The stone breakers indeed grumbled about the strains of physical labour and the need for government administered workers compensation. However, their most consistent complaint revolved around the lack of steady market prices for the granite stones.
Three-year veteran of the trade Abu Bangura was confident he would have a much easier time providing for his family if the government would take a role in setting a fair and consistent market rate for the commodity.
After our afternoon with the stone breakers Leonard and I visited the local office of Sierra Leone’s Labour Ministry. Spokesperson Edmond Y. Kamara admitted he was unaware of the specific group we were inquiring about, the informal job sector makes up more then half of Sierra Leone’s workforce. Kamara did say that all members of the self-employed workforce are encouraged to register with the worker’s insurance board, the body that provides compensation when registered labours become unable to work due to illness or injury.
The problem remains however, with unpredictable wages and the relentless risk of immobilizing injury, workers cannot afford to pay into anything other then the immediate needs of their dependents.
-Mackay Taggart
Tags: Sierra Leone
International Workers Day happened on May 1st. Historically it’s a time to celebrate the achievements of the labour movement all over the world. In Ghana this year, the Trades Union Congress planned to mark the day with the theme of “Deepening Democracy.” But many workers tell JOY NEWS that they’re more concerned with rising food, petrol and utility costs. JOY FM has been questioning officials of the TUC on whether this theme is important when most workers are struggling to fund their kids’ educations, food costs, rent, utilities and increasing transportation fees.
Acting General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress Kofi Asamoah says that the bread and butter issues are important. However, he says they shouldn’t be the sole focus during Labour Day events.
“I may not agree that if the cost of living is skyrocketing, it should be the only thing you think about,” he says. If we make our messages well rounded, the message will not be about deepening democracy alone. It will be talking about the economic and social well being of the workers in this country generally.”
JOY FM reporter Steven Anti and JHR trainer Alison Lang went to visit some members of the civil service to hear how they feel about scraping by month after month - and what they think should be done about it.
By Steven Anti
Produced by Alison Lang
Tags: Ghana
