The Senegalese press has been under pressure since the coming to power of new leaders. In one year, the country’s media find it difficult to continue to finance themselves. They denounce too much tax burden and the freezing of advertising contracts with public enterprises. But what has aroused a wave of anger among Senegalese journalists in recent days is a notification of immediate cessation of publication or dissemination at around 400 media in Senegal.
The editorial staff of the daily newspaper L’Indépendant located at the Medina in Dakar has not yet received this notification but is also afraid of having to close its doors.
Elhadji Cheikhou Oumar Lo, the administrator of the GL Média group, publisher of this daily life, explains that“In principle, the newspaper will appear but it will not be in the kiosks. We have not yet received a notification. We continue to edit in PDF version, in the meantime. And then, we even do telework because we are forced to comply with the situation”.
Media that struggles to be profitable
The daily newspaper Independent therefore publishes its articles in digital version on its website. For the past year, and with a reduced to nine employees, he has always struggled to honor his commitments.
The liabilities are heavy, explains Elhadji Cheikhou Oumar Lo. He fears that like the other media prohibited from activities, he could also be notified to him, a lack of legal deposit, printing and effective presence in kiosks. Which goes against the new press code.
According to him, “If we have adopted this posture, this initiative for a year, it is because it was a little difficult. Today, the printing works, you owe them a lot of millions because the impression is paid daily. We have a problem of economic viability in Senegal with the media. The only thing that we are accused of is the lack of impression of the newspaper, its absence in the kiosks in Senegal and a problem of legal deposit. We are not against the sanitation of the press “.
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An asphyxiated press
Economically suffocated, the Senegalese press is threatened in its existence, regrets the president of the association of online press professionals and coordinator of the coordination of press associations.
“We do not refuse regulation, explains Ibrahima Lissa Faye. We do not refuse a sanitation from the sector. But in reality, this must be done according to a dialogue and consultations, at least on the basis of the conclusions of the foundations that we had proposed. “
For the moment, 381 press companies are prohibited from activity for non-compliance with the press code in Senegal, according to the coordination of press associations.
In a press release, the Council of Diffusers and Press Publishers of Senegal (CDEPS) informs that its lawyers filed on May 2 an appeal in summary court to suspend the orders of “immediate cessation of publication or dissemination”.
