Gov’t to engage stakeholders regarding welfare of journalists

The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, has reiterated that government is in talks with media house owners all over Uganda on how to address the issue of welfare and remuneration of journalists in the country.

Baryomunsi said this during the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day which was held at Golden Tulip in Kampala. It was highlighted that the poor pay of journalists has resulted in unprofessionalism in the media industry.

Over the years experts have expressed concerns about the welfare of media practitioners in Uganda. They observe that many journalists are poorly paid and not compensated for extra hours.

Baryomunsi stressed that the government is going to engage media owners about journalist salaries. Many of the media houses that pay journalists poorly are privately owned.

“There are those journalists who are even paid to damage individuals. Those things are real and they affect the profession of journalism. As we look at press freedom, we must reflect on all these issues and what kind of cure can we propose,” he said.

The minister noted that this goes a long way in undermining journalism and press freedom in Uganda.

According to Moses Watasa, the Commissioner for Communication at the Ministry of ICT, they are working with stakeholders like Uganda Media Sector Working Group on the terms and conditions set before hiring journalists.

He says this will help in streamlining the welfare of journalists in Uganda especially freelancers who work for several media houses.

“For example, a freelancer sometimes can be paid Shs1, 000 or Shs2, 000. If someone goes to Entebbe to capture a story and that’s what you pay them, there’s then something wrong, the minister noted.

“But the other issue we are looking at is exploring a possible minimum wage in the country. We are consulting how we can make journalism part of the provision for the minimum wage,” he added.

Viola Ajok, the Senior Program Manager at American Bar Association, explained that however many journalists are not paid some still take bribes and do not follow up their cases whenever someone tries to represent them in courts of law.

Ajok explained that some places of work have to an extent negatively influenced the freedom of journalists. She said journalists who start working without contracts end up delivering unprofessional work.

Parliament in February 2019 passed the Minimum Wage Bill but the president declined to assent to it saying there were gaps in the Minimum Wages Advisory Board and the Wages Council Act that the Bill sought to cure.

World Press Freedom Day has been commemorated under the theme ‘Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for all Other Human Rights.’