Media institutions and journalists throughout Africa faceenormous challenges ranging from the need to improve professionalism toaddressing issues of poverty in the media as well as legal and ethicalconcerns.
Participants at the just concluded inaugural meeting of the AfricanMedia Leaders' Forum in Dakar, Senegal had been discussing these challenges facingthe media. The Dakar meeting was co-sponsored by the World Bank.
Cameroonian-born Eric Chinje, head of the World Bank's external affairsdivision for Africa, told VOA the Bank and a coalition of donors working through the AfricanMedia Initiative plan to support media sustainability in Africa.
"TheAfrica Media Initiative is a multi-donor initiative that will seek to create arevolving fund that will, like any financial institution, provide loans atlittle or no interest but with an administrative fee, may be. The initiativewill also result in the creation of a foundation that should hopefully providegrants to media institutions, may be in countries coming out of conflict likein the case of Liberia to help in creating viable media institutions in thecountry," he said.
Chinjesaid the African Media Initiative would provide the platform for theinterventions of the World Bank and others. He said there would be a linkbetween the initiative and the African Media Leaders' Forum to provide someoversight.
Hesaid even though the media initiative is not a World Bank's own initiative, heexpects the World Bank to play a significant role.
"Iam currently chair of the African Media Initiative Steering Committee whichobviously puts the bank at the center of this whole effort. But it is not theWorld Bank initiative. The initiative would be advertising in the coming daysfor the position of an executive director who will be based in Africa, willhave a secretariat ultimately in Africa and run the institution from there, butwith an important donor oversight," he said.
Chinjesaid steps have been taken to address the legitimate concern that the contentsof media institutions receiving financing under the initiative could be controlled.
"Thatis adequately addressed in the conceptual framework of the African MediaInitiative. As I said, it is multi-donor. It brings in the private donor; itbrings in foundations and so on. So there is no single institution outside orwithin Africa that will be the dominant force within the African MediaInitiative. Contributors will include African players, non-African players,donors and non-African donors," he said.
Chinjesaid clear criteria are being developed through which media institutions receivingfunding would be held accountable.
"It'snot going to be a free flow of resources. Requests would be studied and appliedagainst the set of criteria that have been agreed to. The ultimate objective isto be able to ensure that, in all the countries in Africa, that we can have onthe policy an appropriate environment for media to operate, on the investmentside that basic access to capital is available to media, on the infrastructureside, that every serious media house be in a position acquire and use adequateinfrastructure and equipment, and journalists have option when it come totraining. These options should be made available media professionals across thecontinent," Chinje said.