Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) has appointed Mrs. Aisha Davies as vice chair. She replaces Ms. Fatou Jeng, who resigned few months ago. Mrs. Davies is the director, Department of Information Services at the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure.
Mrs Davies has a long-standing career and wealth of experience in the media and government and brings with her a voice of authority and expertise in media policy. She joins the Media Council as a representative of the government. Her replacement, Ms Jeng, was the representative of The Gambia Bar Association on the Council. The Bar has since appointed Mr Abdoulie Fatty, a private lawyer, as Ms Jeng’s replacement.
Media Council has also sworn-in Mrs Amie Joof-Cole as a member of Ethics Panel. Mrs Joof-Cole is a veteran journalist and gender advocate. Her swearing-in completed the 3-member Ethics Panel. Mr Salieu Taal, a prominent lawyer and president of The Gambia Bar Association and Mr Madi Jobarteh, a civil society leader, were sworn-in last week.
Similarly, the Council has also sworn-in Mr Junkung Jobarteh as Executive Secretary last week. Mr Jobarteh is an experienced and knowledgeable Gambian lawyer with a proven record of professionalism and integrity. He holds a master’s degree in law, LLB and BA in English and History. He undertook a certificate-level course in Freedom of Expression at University of Pretoria.
Until his appointment, Mr Jobarteh was the head of legal affairs at the Public Utilities Regulatory (PURA), a semi-independent body regulating utilities, including broadcast media. He previously worked as a magistrate and presided over the industrial tribunal as well as criminal and civil cases. He has also worked as a journalist and child rights activist.
About the MCG
The Media Council was established by the GPU in December, 2018, as an independent self-regulatory mechanism for addressing public complaints against the conduct of journalists. The Council is a one-stop-shop mechanism that will regulate editorial content across all media platforms – print, radio, television and online – by monitoring compliance of, and implementing the industry-wide code of conduct that establishes ethical standards for journalism in The Gambia.
The Council is governed by an 11-member Governing Council, comprising representatives from the government, media, civil society, private sector, women rights activists and differently able groups. The Governing Council has a dual role of exercising oversight over secretariat and serving as appeal panel while the Ethics Panel presides over public complaints with respect to media publications.
