Gov’t subsidy to private communication is insignificant

- Minister

By Amindeh Blaise Atabong in Yaounde

The minister of communication, cum government spokesman, Issa Tchiroma Bakari has admitted that the amount of state subvention to private media organs is insignificant with respect to the needs of the private press in Cameroon.

Minister Tchiroma

Minister Tchiroma made the acknowledgement while responding to questions from journalists in a late night press conference he convened last Thursday.

During the press briefing, Tchiroma confirmed that private media organs, whose number has drastically increased within the last 25 years of liberalisation, are still exposed to financial precariousness which prevents them from taking their editorial independence and meet up with the professional imperatives; both at the deontological and qualitative levels.

“It appears that the weak impact of the government subsidy system in force is more closely linked to the extremely reduced volume of the budget allocated to it...,” the communication boss stated.

Tchiroma was categorical that the impoverished nature of the private press and the little impact of government subsidies make the vitality of the sector to be ever jeopardised. He identified the resulting effects to be the impoverishment of professionals at the service of private media, frequent serious violation of ethics and the editorial hostility evidenced by most organs vis-a-vis institutions and public authorities.

While conceding that the private press has a significant potential in terms of growth levels through direct incidence on the economic sector in general, Tchiroma posited that a more sustained support of the state to rescue the economically-weakened press could significantly contribute to achieving the global objective.

Despite this impediment with barely 243MCFA shared this year amongst 167organs of the private communication sector, the minister of communication sounded optimistic that there are brighter days ahead.

He announced the completion of preparatory works for the effective setting up of a Special Trust Fund for the development of private media.

Also, Tchiroma said the ministry of trade had put at the disposal of his ministry an appropriate setup for the creation of a purchasing centre of inputs to manufacture newspapers.

Minister Tchiroma equally reiterated that in the year 2002, the state passed a law exempting the print press from the Value Added Tax and also instituted custom exemptions on computer equipment and other input for the production of newspapers.

2014 media aid

After the national commission for the review of applications for government subsidy to private communication met on October 23, some 167 organs were selected out of 209 to share 243MFCFA.

Of the beneficiaries, there were: 42 community radio stations, 29 professional associations, 6 printing press, 3 producers, 5 television stations, 11 commercial radio stations and 71 print press enterprises.

We gathered that the subsidy is destined to assist in the acquisition of professional material, support capacity building, aid in the production of quality information, boost coverage of major national events, borne cost of unsold newspapers, amongst others.