The history of the relationship between the state and the private press in Cameron has not been very juicy for the past more than five decades. It all started with a crippling policy of censorship under former President Ahidjo and was only scrapped a few years into the present regime.
Needless to explain the pains and sacrifice offered by the private press in the early nineties, to arrive at the present climate under which the private press operates today, thanks to the wisdom of the incumbent President Biya, to whom credit must be given for initiating a support mechanism of subsidy in favour of the private press. Under this initiative it was prescribed that the private press shall be subsidized.
We appreciate the fact that for the past 16 years, since the establishment of this policy, under the supervision of the Minister of Communication, who chairs the national commission for the scrutiny of applications for government subsidy, government has kept to its promise. It has become an annual affair even though it has hardly removed the private press from the poverty line.
The general contention is that the amount allocated to the private press annually is in no way close to the colossal amount offered state-owned media, such as the Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV and the Cameron Tribune publications. The irony in this is that what these state-owned media benefit from this mechanism runs into billions of tax-payers’ money. This year, the private press has been allocated FCFA 216 million, which in actual fact, when related to the functioning costs of media houses, amounts to very little or nothing, capable of actually redeeming this sector from its visible financial misery. While presiding over this year’s session of the commission, the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, sounded benevolent enough to advice beneficiaries of the subsidy to use the funds put at their disposal wisely, in order to improve on their performance and professionalism, especially in 2018, being an election year, not forgetting also that Cameroon is preparing to host the African Nations Cup next year.
For the past 16 years after this mechanism was introduced, it should be recalled that much debate has been going on concerning the size of the envelope containing the subsidy that the private media houses have been receiving. Contrary to hopes that after these many years, something will be done to fatten the envelope, Mr. Tchiroma instead seemed to be asking to be excused that the contents of the envelop has dropped drastically to FCFA 216 million as from the previous year which stood at FCFA 240 million.
Minister Tchiroma also seemed to have expressed satisfaction that, despite complains about the smallness of the size of the envelope, the subsidy has greatly contributed to strengthen technical, logistical and financial capabilities. We can only accept his assessment of the situation reluctantly because it conforms with the established government perception of the private media, by which it would always expect the private media to abide by government’s version of a situation.
It is well known that where the private media version differs from that of government, it is labelled misinformation and slander. Which is why we believe that Mr. Tchiroma lamented recently that ‘’government’s effort to develop a quality media that would provide jobs in the country, are unfortunately still being hampered by unethical professional practices of misinformation, slandering manipulation through social networks and propaganda.’’
We are worried that if the minister had taken time to investigate the constraints that the private media in this country has been facing to produce what it has been able to present to the public all this while, he will surely hail this sector. We however want to believe that if government really was serious, ‘’to develop a quality media’’ as the minister believes and that according to him, government is being held back from doing so because of the reasons he has advanced, we can only urge government to throw overboard such sentiments.
We are certain that if government can place at the disposal of the private sector media, at least 50 per cent of what is being allocated to the public media, namely: the CRTV and the Cameroon Tribune, it will be in a better position to compete favourably with the public media organs.
We certainly decry the double standards. The present formula certainly can never produce the media quality of Mr. Issa Tchiroma’s dream.
BY ATIA AZOHNWI
(Political Desk Editor)