PHOTO: Mark Mengonfia, RAL Secretary General
The Secretary General of the Reporters Association of Liberia (RAL) , Mark N. Mengonfia has frowned at media owners of Nimba who only construct radio stations and recruit reporters on a gentlemen agreement without pay.
“This should not be happening to the media,” Mr. Mengonfia said.
Speaking in in Nimba County on Saturday, August 7, 2021 when he represented the leadership of RAL at the induction ceremony of Nimba Community Radio Association, the RAL SG said the media reporters bad labor practices occurring in other institutions but has since failed to speak to what is happening to their workers.
“That is why this time I do not go after bad labor stories. We who always talking about bad labor are the ones who are not paying our workers,” he added.
The RAL SG was responding to information received that community radio owners only allow reporters to work at their stations, but nothing like compensation is provided in return for those Reporters.
According to him, their actions of not paying their reporters put the journalists in harms ways and that they will only be surviving at the mercies of politicians who will only use them as conduits to make their gains.
Some of the reporters who confided in the RAL SG said, even if they are not paid, compensation should be given them at least to reduce their stress on them as reporters or journalists of Nimba.
Another reporter said, “It is just by the help of God first and those institutions in Monrovia who have contracted some of use to serve as coordinators for them. If it were not so, SG some of us will be farming by now.”
Also speaking, Representative Samuel G. Kogar of Nimba County District #5 who served as guest speaker of NICORA induction, encouraged the NICORA leadership to at all times be objective in their workings.
He called on journalists to be truthful in their reporting work taking into consideration the overall good of the society.
Apparently, the Nimba lawmaker has no idea of how reporters of his county are not being paid by their bosses- he did not speak to it, but only encouraged them to do their best at the work they do to inform the general public.
NICORA’s recent challenges
Last Saturday was an historic day for the Nimba Journalist association as they finally agreed to put an end to what divided them as an institution.
In 2019, they went through an election which disagreement entered among them thus resulting to formation of ‘Independent NICORA.’
The internal wrangling last from august of 2019 till August 2021 after mediation by lawmakers and citizens of the county who said it as a bad example to be set by the journalism body in Nimba County.
The mediation resulted into the induction of Mr. S. Kennedy Domah as president for the second time.
In his speech after the taking of the oath of office, Mr. Domah promised to work in the interest of his colleagues.
He also promised that they will not go back to what divided them years ago as the institution is supreme than any of its members.