NCC boss prescribes honesty, humility in journalism

The President of the National Communication Council (NCC) Peter Essoka, has recommended media practitioners and others engaged in the gathering and dissemination of information to discharge such duties with honesty and humility.

‘Uncle P’, as he is fondly called, made the statement during the presentation of New Year wishes to him at the Council’s head office in Yaounde on January 22. He called for modesty and responsibility in the exercise of the noble profession.

“I exhort all to be responsible in order to accelerate the procedure and process of media advancement and social communication in our country,” he said.

Peter Essoka further promised stricter sanctions for defaulters in the profession. He added that, out of modesty, he will continue to strive on fostering responsible communication despite the several challenges. To him, NCC has been able to perform its task, due to the will of the Almighty whom he urged all to look up to and depend on.

Presenting the achievements and perspectives of the Council, the Secretary-General, Dr Jean Tobie Hond, said the outfit has, both at the national and international level, been engaged in activities geared at realising a more responsible and professional media landscape in Cameroon.

“Following the dispositions of the decree of January 23, 2012, which gives the Council the responsibility of regulating social communication and the sensibilization of its actors, four ordinary sessions and three extraordinary sessions have been held, which resulted in 17 decisions and five press releases of pedagogic nature,” he stated.

He said, amongst other seminars, a national seminar on the protection of children in the media and four regional seminars on the problems of managing information in war times were also organised. He said the Council will continue on a good footing given that, as at December 30, 2015, its official website registered 192.669 visits with the Facebook page registering 766 likes.

At the international level, Tobie Hond said the dynamic NCC President has led a delegation to the fourth conference of the Network of the Presidents of Francophone Media Regulators which held in June 2015 in Ivory Coast on the theme; ‘regulating audio-visual communication in the numeric and new media era’.

He said the NCC attended other international seminars and acquired rich experiences.

The SG highlighted six projects that the NCC intends to undertake.

“Amongst are projects for 2016, is the extension of the head office, subscription to medical insurance to Council workers, the realisation of a cartography of media organs in Cameroon, the putting in place of a befitting signpost of the NCC, the trimester production of a magazine for the NCC, and the organisation of an excellence award gala in which the best, loyal and hardworking personnel will be rewarded,” he stated.

The NCC is determined to realise a responsible media landscape in Cameroon and get rid of all quacks that bring the profession to shame.