By Aminata Phidelia Allie
Acting United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, country director, Dr. Mohamed Abchir, has described the constitutional review process as “a unique opportunity for voices to be heard”.
He told a one-day workshop organized by the Constitutional Review Committee in collaboration with the UNDP, at Miatta Conference Centre in Freetown that because the media had played important role during past challenges in Sierra Leone, its role was also still very vital.
He referred to the review as a historic national process whose outcome would surely influence and promote social justice, peace, development and conflict prevention mechanisms to avoid a repeat of socio-political violence.
Abchir noted that the constitutional review process was not a party issue but a national issue, “as the constitution is owned by and applies to all Sierra Leoneans”. He said it was for this reason that President Ernest Bai Koroma called for national participation, emphasizing the importance of inclusiveness at all levels.
He observed that the process also offered a perfect opportunity for the consolidation and safety of the country’s “hard-won gains over the years”, adding, “if managed well, the constitutional review process itself, will strengthen the culture of democracy and help to develop a tradition of the rule of law and meaningful participation in decision-making”.
For participation of groups of stakeholders to be effective, however, he said they had to be well informed and coordinated so that they would understand how the process worked when dialogue started in earnest. He also described the training as an opportunity to further discuss the role of the media in the review process.
Outlining the importance of communication to the review process, chairman of the committee,Justice Edmond Cowan, said they viewed communication strategy as “very imperative because communication is at the heart of our everyday lives”. He observed that with good communication, one could avoid being misunderstood or prevented from expressing unclear messages, ideas, feelings and instructions.
“Embedded in good communication is a good listening skill. Both good communication and listening skills help build good relationships and trust”, Justice Cowan stated.
He said at the committee they believed that with a proper communication strategy in place the concepts of inclusiveness, participation and ownership would be actualized, adding that the training was timely “because the CRC is poised to start civic education and public consultations”.
Giving a background to the formation of the constitutional review committee, its Secretary General, Augustine Sheku, said the 80-man committee was set up in July 2013 “to undertake an all-inclusive and participatory process for the review of the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone in tandem with the recommendations of the CRC submitted in 2008”.
He said the overarching deliverable of that task was to have a finalized constitutional review process with a revised document presented to parliament for adoption. For almost a year since its inception, Sheku said, a secretariat to man the functionality of the committee had been set up by government, eleven vehicles procured and eleven researchers assigned to provide the committee with technical support.
The workshop, which was attended by over fifty media practitioners and a number of civil society activists, aimed at educating the media on “ethical, objective and conflict sensitive reporting”.
(C) Politico 13/03/14
