Relations between the media and the government are not always smooth. The new decree of the Minister of Communication establishing the Commission for the Review and Validation of the Declaration of Press Companies in Senegal does not help to ease the tension. According to the Association of Publishers and Professionals of the Online Press (Appel), this decree is not featured in the “Press Code and in all the texts implementing the code”.  « This ministerial decree is a kind of UFO in the legal and institutional order of the media sector. This decree, drafted in a cavalier manner, without any consultation or discussion, arrogates to itself the right of life and death over press companies. Indeed, in its missions listed in Article 2, it says, among other things: « examine the registration requests of press companies addressed to the ministry via the targeted platform, ensure compliance with the eligibility criteria and the required conditions, with regard to the legislation in force, validate or reject the registration requests… When the text imposed by the minister speaks of validating or rejecting, it exceeds its prerogatives and thumbs its nose at the regulatory authority », regrets Appel.

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For Appel, it « exceeds its prerogatives » and confines the CNRA « to the status of an extra in this famous commission ».  Adding that « The presence of the Ministries of the Interior and Justice is even more intriguing. » For the structure, the Minister of Communication launched an online registration platform for press companies on which media « have registered en masse » despite the inadequacies of the support. What about article 9 of the Minister’s decree which speaks of the Permanent Commission? « In truth, there has never been a problem with registration because on December 15, 2022, a 40-day registration campaign was launched by the predecessor of the current minister. It did not arouse any tension or reaction of disapproval from the actors. Moreover, the figures put forward by the supervisory authority often come from this census. The fundamental pitfall in the attempt to apply the texts is rather linked to the exploitation of this data, » recalled Appel, which advised the Ministry of Communication to « strengthen the staff of the Communication Directorate to study the various files, according to their compliance with the Press Code and its implementing texts. »