The Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah has said in Parliament that there is no control of government information.
“We have no system in place for storage or transmitting,” Mr. Bah made the statement when officials of his ministry met Members of the Parliamentary Oversight committee on Information and Civic Education at Parliament Building on Friday, March 1st 2024.
He said “We have done a management and functional review. They have recommended a structural review, we have now one acting Director when we should have up to five Directors,” the Minister told Parliamentarians. He emphasized that the ministry will always be transparent and accountable in their activities.
Mr. Bah said “We must nurture a sense of Sierra Leone above all else,” while describing the Ministry as brand new.
“We are in charge of the film industry and are about to formulate a policy. We are looking at the gaps on how we regulate social media. We have unregistered online institutions. There is a gap in the law that we seek to fill,” he noted. He said the Ministry is looking at data protection and advertising policy not just for newspapers but also billboards.
Mr. Bah disclosed that it is the ambition of the Ministry for solar-power community radio stations to keep them on. He told Parliamentarians that the Ministry is working on a comprehensive Civic plan that will be cascaded to the people.
In her response, Hon.Mariama Bangura calls for a receptive civic policy and the inclusion of civics in the national curriculum.
Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara noted that President Julius Maada Bio must be encouraged by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education to speak out on Kush. Hon. Mustapha Sellu said allowing yourself to be interviewed by on online television is giving them credence.
For his part, Hon. Alpha Amadu Bah called on the ministry to continue to partner with Parliament with the view to address their challenges collectively.