The media sector in Senegal is once again shaken by the actions of the Minister of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Affairs, with the publication of decree 2024-3401, appointing members of the National Audiovisual Regulatory Council (CNRA) , dated December 11, 2024.
This document contains many shortcomings, which indicate, once again, the incompetence of the Minister of Communication.
1) Appointments to civil and military positions fall within the sole competence of the President of the Republic, by decree. Under no circumstances can the appointment of members of the CNRA be made on the proposal of the Minister of Communication.
2) Members of the CNRA have a mandate of six years, non-renewable and non-revocable. It is in no way a question of replacing them. This is also simply a new blunder due to a total ignorance of the texts which govern the sector.
3) The CNRA is an “independent audiovisual regulatory authority” (art. 1 law No. 2006 creating the CNRA). As such, among its responsibilities, the CNRA ensures, among other things, “the independence and freedom of information and communication in the audiovisual sector” (art. 7). In the republican tradition, no member of the CNRA can be affiliated with a political party or publicly sympathize with it.
4) Furthermore, the CDEPS urgently invites the authorities to set up the High Authority for the Regulation of Audiovisual Communication (HARCA), which must replace the current CNRA for a long time, in accordance with the relevant texts of the new Press Code, while respecting the objective criteria for appointment. “Jub, jubal, jubanti” begins with respecting the laws in force, otherwise it remains an empty slogan.
In fact, these new actions of the Minister of Communication are in line with all the breaches of his ministry since the advent of the third political change of March 24, 2024.
Where the Constitution enshrines freedom of the press and the right to undertake business in all sectors, including that of the media, the minister commits the crime of assuming the right to say who is a legal media or not and which media company press has the right to operate on Senegalese territory or not.
Recently, the preliminary draft of the law on advertising excludes, both in its development phase and in the identification of players in the sector, press companies which are undoubtedly natural supports for commercial advertising.
Unfortunately, all these actions by the Minister of Communication, under the regime of President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FAYE, ended up creating a situation of permanent tension with the media for almost 10 months (289 days). There has been a reign of terror and arbitrariness in the press sector in Senegal since the appointment of the current minister. In Senegal, we are no longer talking about threats, but about recurring attacks on press freedom.
The Senegalese media, which contributed greatly to three political changes, need a calm environment to continue to play their role in the stability and development of Senegal.
For the Council of Broadcasters and Publishers of
Press of Senegal (CDEPS)
