Elizabeth Mosima
25 April 2008
The 2008 session of the press card issuing board took place in Yaounde yesterday. The meeting saw the participation of top officials of the committee and journalists.
It was presided over the Minister of Communication, Jean-Pierre Biyiti bi Essam. Top on the agenda was the examination of the report of the committee of July 2007, examination of the 2007 budget and proposal of a budget for the committee for 2008 as well as draw up the plan of action for 2008. Members were also expected to examine the application files of journalists in quest of press cards. Already, some 100 files have been received at the headquarters of the committee in Yaounde.
The Minister of Communication said the issuing of press cards to journalists is to enable them carry out their profession under the best conditions. The document, he said, also makes it easy to identify a real journalist. According to the minister, the Ministry of Communication is taking into consideration the 2002 decree according certain right to journalists who own press cards. Presently, under the auspices of the Ministry of Communication, a partnership convention signed with the local telephone company, MTN offers preferential tariff rate to journalists and auxiliaries of the profession. For his part, the Minister of Tourism has also taken measures to ensure journalists and auxiliaries of the profession a 50 percent reduction of fare in hotel rooms owned by the government.
This is thanks to an agreement signed between the Ministry of Tourism, the national Investment Corporation and the national press card committee. Negotiations are equally going on with certain administrations and organisations in view of obtaining divers facilities for those with press cards. These are the Ministry of Post and telecommunication, Ministry of Finances, CAMTEL and Orange Cameroon. The Minister called on the members of press card committee to be vigilant and objective in the attribution of press cards to ensure that press cards are attributed only to qualified journalist.
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