By Modou Kanteh
The Minister of Information, Honourable Lamin Queen Jammeh has reiterated government’s commitment to work in partnership with the media for the betterment of The Gambia. He said gone are the days when the government and the private media cannot work together to complement each other’s efforts.
“The political will is there to work with all media outlets in the country, and government has put in place the Access to Information Law to make information accessible to all,” the minister told private heads as while on tour of private media outlets in the Greater Banjul Area.
He used the opportunity to urge private radio stations to be connecting to GRTS Radio during news hours at 1pm and 6pm. This he said, will ensure that no one is left out in terms of information.
On a visit to the Muslim Television Ahamadiyaa (MTA) at Tallinding, Minister Jammeh applauded the Ahmadya Jamat for their contribution towards the socio-economic development of the country. He assured them that government is aware of every support the MTA is giving to the country. “And be assured that government will continue to create the enabling environment for your smooth operation in the country,” Minister Jammeh noted.
Deputy Director, King FM Radio, Mr Laming Sanyang applauded the Barrow government for creating the enabling environment for the media entities in this country . He recalled that in the past it was very difficult for the media to operate.
“My only worry is that those draconian laws still remain and government can still use them against the media,” Sanyang lamented.
The Chief Executive Officer of Eye Africa TV, Mr Lamin Kanteh appealed to the government to lift the embargo on radio licenses.
“When I was applying for my television station license, I also applied for a radio license but I was told that there is embargo on license for radio stations,” he told the minister.
He also appealed to the minister for the government to consider subventing the private media entities.
The minister was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary; Director General, Gambia Radio and Television Services GRTS); and the Deputy Director at the Department of Information Services.