By Awa Sowe
At the end of the second leg of his tour in the provinces, the Minister of Information, Honourable Lamin Queen Jammeh called for paradigm shift in information sharing in which actors – government and the media in particular - will complement one another’s efforts rather than engage in confrontation.
He described his tour of media institutions across the country as thoughtful and relevant, saying the relevance of the tour is proven by the information gathered from representatives across the board.
“The government under the leadership of President Adama Barrow has realised that information is a basic human right and has created a democratic dispensation to empower the citizens through information dissemination to ensure transparency and accountability”.
The minister stated that the relationship between media and government has a profound impact on the information to which the public has access. “Historically, governments have relied on media to communicate with citizens and stakeholders around the world, ensuring that they receive the information that will shape their day-to-day decisions’’.
He assured that his ministry will ensure citizens take ownership of programmes, policies and activities necessary for social and economic transformation of the country by building a two –way communication channel between the people and government.
Further commenting on the tour the Minister said it has enabled him and his team gather first hand information on the challenges faced with media houses in the country, and gave them the space to interact with information actors.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Information, Mr. Yankuba Saidy said GRTS Bansang and Basse could be regarded as priority areas with the frequent power outage and low voltage affecting its operation.
