World Press Freedom Day

Gov’t urged to create National Order of Journalists
By Sarah Nkongho and Eddy Bokuba in Buea
The Government of Cameroon has been urged to create a National Order of Journalists in the country. The Order which is expected to function in a similar way as the Cameroon Bar Association will to regulate entry and exit into the media profession. This was one of the major resolutions taken by press men as they commemorated World Press Freedom Day in Buea, on May 3rd 2014.The commemoration was placed under the theme: ''Media Freedom for a better future; shaping the post-2015 development agenda.”
    The Journalists who converged under umbrella Associations such as CANPA, CAMASEJ, CUJ and CJA were unanimous about the urgent need to create the body.
    Even though, others were of the opinion that an association that brings together both French and English speaking journalists should be created prior to the creation of the National Order of Journalists.
       The idea for the creating such a body is the brain-child of the NGO, Africaphonie and is contained in article 52 of a proposed draft law made by journalists rallied under the auspices of Africaphonie in Buea recently.

      According to the CEO of Africaphonie, Mualimu George Ngwane the proposed draft law is aimed at revising Law no 90/052 of 19/12/1990 on Freedom of Mass Communication and Law no 96/04 of 04/01/1996 amending and supplementing certain provisions thereof.
      “The project for the creation of a National Order started with the commissioning of media experts to review the 1990/1996 Mass Communication Laws through a virtual Assembly discussion involving a broad spectrum of legal experts, socio-linguists and media professionals in Cameroon. The harmonized version was collected by a small working group and submitted to some twenty five media practitioners in an explanatory workshop that took place in Buea on 22nd November 2013 culminating in the draft revision,” Ngwane explained, adding that the draft law would be submitted to relevant administrative and diplomatic offices for legislation in Cameroon.
   “The National Order would in no way perturb the functioning of the National Communication Council,” Ngwane pointed out further, stating that the N.C.C will continue to play its role as the watchdog in charge of ensuring discipline and respect of ethics of the profession. Meanwhile, the N.O.J would serve as a gadfly to regulate entry into the profession.
     The event that was coordinated by John Mbah Akuroh, President of Cameroon Anglophone Publishers Association (CANPA), was attended among others by the president of the Cameroon Union of Journalists (C.U.J), Charles Ndi Chia, the president of the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA), Paul Foanyi Nkemanyang and some about 40 journalists from around the country.
        The absence of Tricia Oben, president of CAMASEJ was conspicuous, especially as the Association of Anglophone Journalists is now inactive in most branches across the country.
    In his statement on World Press Freedom Day, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, provided telling statistics indicating that journalists were not free in the practice of their profession in 2013. Ban Ki Moon regretted that 1000 journalists were killed between 1992-2013 with 70 killed in 2013 only and 14 already this year (an average of 1 journalist killed every week). Also, 211 journalists were imprisoned and 456 forcefully exiled since 2008. 
        The Inspector-General of the Ministry of Communications, represented the minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who also presided over an impressively attended, well co-ordinated and richly animated World Press Freedom Day event on the same day in Yaounde.