Gbarnga- The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) 2022 Congress kicked off in Gbarnga, Bong County on Thursday, November 17, 2022 and continues today, Friday, before concluding on Saturday with elections of new officers, a PUL press release says.
Delivering the state of the media address, PUL President Charles Coffey noted that despite the enormous challenges, the Liberian media environment appears better and continue to impact society.
Coffey encouraged all journalists across the country to participate in the PUL congress and discuss issues affecting the media and come out with decisions and that would help find solutions to mitigate these problems. Congress, he said is the highest decision-making body for the media community and called for it to be taken seriously.
Congress Committee chairperson Ms. Carolyn Myers Zoduah welcomed participants to the congress and noted that it was an opportunity for journalists to converge and deliberate on issues for forward movement of the PUL. She emphasized that congress will discuss the critical role of the media in mitigating conflicts ahead of next year’s legislative and presidential elections in Liberia.
In a goodwill message, the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) expressed hope that the Gbarnga congress will help to strengthen the bond that exists amongst members of the PUL.
ALJA’s message, signed by its President Joe S. Mason, called for a successful deliberation and a peaceful, transparent and credible election in Gbarnga.
Friday’s session of congress will, among others, focus on the financial and administrative reports of the leadership of the Union during the last three years.
Congress is also expected to discuss the transformation of the National Media Council to an Independent Media Commission, proposed constitutional amendments and adopt a resolution.
Meanwhile, the 2022 Congress Committee has expressed disappointment over the low turnout of day one and apologized to some invited guests who had to leave before the official opening.
However, one of the candidates in the election, Julius Kanubah has laid down a precondition for participating in the polls with the claim that the Union’s voters must be cleaned.
Mr. Kanubah has called on all his supporters and other PUL members to stay away from Gbarnga until that is done, a day before the scheduled election.