GOL kills Media Houses Economically -Another Golden Handshake Looms By: Emmanuel Flahn There is a saying that the media is the watch dog of society and therefore, must be given the much needed legal debts owed to operate. This saying has proven otherwise as the watch dog is been sent to its early grave by the Government of Liberia. The early burial of the media is due to the refusal of government to pay legal debts owed media houses. Usually, the government in their quest to strangulate the media asked them for tax clearance knowing full well that these media entities are unable to be tax cleared with the huge debts owed. A petit trader, James Kanneh termed the government action as ridiculous and has the propensity to carry media houses to their early graves. Kanneh, who spoke in an angry tone, said how the media will be vibrant when the government is strangulating them economically. Though the government has refused to pay media houses for advertisements published or broadcast, she has spent over US$200M to foreign media for public relations. The government of President Sirleaf tends to use “Golden handshake” pretending that she is serious in paying debts owed the media. Knowing the poor financial status of media houses, owners of media houses accept the government ‘golden handshake’ because she has employees to pay. This act usually occurred during Christmas and other seasonal times when media owners are looking for money to settle their employees. This paper has gathered information that the Government of Liberia, headed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is planning on giving some publishers a golden handshake. The golden hand shake is an attempt by the government to silence the media after they have constantly complained about government been indebted to them. Unless in the past, governments, through ministries and agencies, were regular in paying debts owed the media after such publication. But, this government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that is boasting of giving the press the role to practice freely is strangulating the media financially. This act is a form of suppression on the media only to eliminate critical reporting on government activities. “How will the public be informed of government activities when the conduit between the public and the government is been oppressed financially”, a local at an intellectual center questioned.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:06:00 +0000
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