By Mabinty M. Kamara
The Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swaray has launched the Dubawa programme in Freetown on the theme: ‘Steaming the spread of misinformation to advance good governance and Democracy in Sierra Loene’ aimed at curbing fake news in Sierra Leone. The event took place on Tuesday 13 July 2021.
Dubawa is Nigeria’s first indigenous independent verification and fact-checking project, initiated by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) with a mission to institute a culture of truth and verification in public discourse and journalism through strategic partnerships between the media, government, civil society organizations, technology giants and the public. Dubawa aims at amplifying truth and enhancing public discourse through media literacy, capacity building and rigorous fact-checking.
The Organization is currently in Nigeria, Ghana and other parts of West Africa and officially in Sierra Leone after its launch by the Minister of Information and Communication.
In addition to the presence of the organization in Sierra Leone, it will today,14th July 2021 commence the training of 15 journalists across the country, representatives of the Sierra Leone Police and the Civil Society, at the Country Lodge Hotel in Freetown and will end on Friday 16th July 2021.
In his opening statement, the Executive director of PTCIJ, Dapo Olurunyomi said Sierra Leone is once a beacon of journalism in West Africa and as such, it needs to be capacitated to be able to take lead in journalism, hence the need for such capacity building programmes for its journalists to be able to provide the leadership.
He said misinformation is currently a major challenge in the sub-region in the wake of the new media. However, Olurunyomi said fact-checking is very key in enhancing public discourse on Public health issues, good governance and Democracy.
In his statement, the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla noted the danger of misinformation and the threat it poses to the peace and stability of the country on a daily basis. Therefore, he said fact-checking of all information is very important. He, therefore, applauded the Dubawa progarmme and noted that its launch and the training of the journalists in the country are very timely especially at the time when the 1965 public order Act that criminalizes libel and defamation has been repealed and with the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to wreck the world.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahaman Swaray said that journalism is the oxygen through which modern nations survive and that the relationship between governments and the media is that of a convenient relationship in which everyone needs one another.
He noted that responsible use of freedom of information and expression has led to many transformations like that of the freedom of late South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela and that its misuse has also led to the destruction of nations like Rwanda.
“It was for that same reason that President Julius Maada Bio has always argued that repealing the 1965 Criminal Libel Law usher freedom and deepen free speech. Remember here, that repeal was done even at our own personal cost but that because he is convinced that the media has a key and important role to play in national development,” he said.
He added that the independent media law was repealed to give the commission more powers to regulate the media, while noting the existence of the Right to Access Information in Sierra Leone in a bid to provide enough space for responsible media.
Copyright © Politico Online (14/07/21)
