By Binta Jaiteh &
Awa k Sanneh
John Charles Njie, chairman of Tango has lambasted The Gambian media for ‘failing its due diligence.’
He said this during a Gambia Press Union-organized forum held in collaboration with Civil Society Coalition at Baobab Resort hotel last week.
“What we report and what we do can have implications on the nation from going forward. Earlier this (last) week it was reported I have left The Gambia and I am supposed to have been in Abuja, Nigeria with politicians. It was widely reported but as you can see with your eyes I’m right before you that means Gambian media has failed to do due diligence,” he said.
One among the shortcomings of Gambian media, he said, “in this country we are all in a hurry to be the first to break news. But breaking fake news is not breaking news. If we are to fix this country, members of the media should be careful of how we report. We can access how we report, but also, the information is keys because it is not all information you receive you must publish as you receive it because some of it has implications. Journalists have to report intelligently,” he added.
Honorable Halifa Sallah in detailed deliberated on the corner stone of Gambian media survival and. He said as a people no society can exist in this modern era without the people having the power to determine who governs them and that’s what democracy is all about.
Touching the correlation between information and democracy, he said the relevance of the tube in promotion of the ovulation of the country’s electoral processes are linked.
GPU Vice President, Muhammed S. Bah expressed that as 2021 elections draw closer it is important to know the key component of any national elections information. “Access to information to elections related information is important to electoral processes in any democracy particularly our imagined democracy, as it will empowers the electorates to make well informed choice and also enhance transparency and accountability during the elections.”
“We understand that elections, here, is very important and the important of information in elections cannot be over emphasized and we know that the Bill is before the parliament. So, National Assembly and all stakeholders should see the Bill as a life-saving machine which is very important to all Gambians,” he added.
