The Reporters Without Borders in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index has ranked The Gambia 10th in Africa and 58th in the world. RSF is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization focused on safeguarding the right to freedom of the media.
Last year, The Gambia scored fifth in Africa and 46th in the global ranking.
Sadibou Marong, RSF director for the Sub-Saharan Africa region, explained the rationale behind this recent drop, attributing it to two reasons.
The first reason, he said, is as a result of delay in payment of bills of subscription and adverts to media houses by government, which he added, affects the daily production of media outlets.
Marong further added that another reason for the decline has to do with the country’s media laws that are inimical to media freedom, introduced by the former regime, which he said, are still in the law books. These include the criminalization of libel, the law on sedition, false publication and false news contrary to the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa to which The Gambia is a signatory.
The Newspaper Publishers Association recently had separate meetings with the minister of information and the president and there were indications that these issues will be addressed. Mr Sam Sarr, the managing editor of Foroyaa said:
“Late payment of invoices hurts us very much, but I look forward to positive development.”
He was asked whether scrapping the laws inimical to media freedom and freedom of expression was necessary since they were not being applied, but he responded:
“I would rather be protected by the law than by the goodwill of a President.”
