Pape Alé Niang, Director General of Radiodiffusion-Télévision du Senegal (RTS), returned to the RTS tower inaugurated by former president Macky Sall. According to him, this infrastructure, which cost more than 33 billion FCFA, is still not operational.
“Take our turn, inaugurated with great fanfare with rave speeches for President Macky Sall; this tower has already swallowed up 33 billion and is not operational. According to the opinion of many Senegalese, the RTS is located in this tower, which is currently an empty and closed building. In addition, the company is asking for an amendment of 10 billion to complete it,” revealed Pape Alé Niang in the morning show “Salam Sénégal”.
The CEO of RTS assures that “this whole file is on the table of the Prime Minister (Ousmane Sonko) and the State so that they can do what is necessary. Because, as journalists, what we really want is to be comfortable, and we want this tower to be completed to do our job properly.”
This is why he calls on all RTS workers and agents to “be a united bloc”. “I do not consider an agent as a member of a union, but as an agent of the RTS. We must be proud to work for the company to rehabilitate the dignity of the journalist. You, on the radio, don’t have so many problems since you receive everyone, but it is under my mandate that television receives opposition figures, and this will continue because nothing prohibits it. »
He takes the opportunity to “thank the authorities of this country; neither the President, nor the responsible minister, nor the Prime Minister questioned me about the appearance of anyone on TV.”
Moreover, the Prime Minister “often tells me to fight so that RTS is the television of all Senegalese and that it can take up the challenge of reconciling the Senegalese people”.
No contracts have been suspended
During this interview, Pape Alé also returned to the company convention agreements between the RTS and the unions. According to him, “there is confusion, because no contract has been suspended. There are fixed-term contracts that have expired and have not been renewed, and this should not be automatic; it depends on the assessment.”
He even wonders: “If President Macky really wanted good for the company, why sign a decree a few days before the end of his mandate? »
He also notes that the former director signed the enterprise agreement on March 29, a decree which he says “only benefits the directors”.
