Fresh questions are being raised about the operational independence of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) following reports that the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, has requested the Corporation’s Board of Trustees to rescind its offer of appointment to media and communications professional, James Tamba Lebbie.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the Minister has not communicated his request in writing, nor has he publicly stated any legal, administrative, or policy basis for seeking the reversal of the Board’s decision. The absence of a formal directive or stated justification has sparked concerns about whether such an intervention is consistent with the statutory independence guaranteed to the national public broadcaster.
The Board’s offer of appointment to Lebbie was made pursuant to the powers vested in it under the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation Act, 2010, which empowers the Corporation to carry out its functions through its duly constituted governance structures. Section 10(1) of the Act establishes the Corporation’s public service mandate, while Section 12 unequivocally provides that *”in the performance of its functions under this Act, the Corporation shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.”*
Media governance observers argue that any attempt – formal or informal – to compel the Board to reverse a lawful offer of appointment, without due process or a clearly established legal basis, risks undermining both the autonomy of the Board and the institutional safeguards deliberately embedded in the SLBC Act.
The development also appears to contrast with public assurances previously given by Minister Bah during a national validation exercise on the reform of the SLBC, convened by the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) in Freetown. On that occasion, the Minister reportedly reaffirmed Government’s commitment to an independent public broadcaster, stating that under the current administration the SLBC enjoys both operational and editorial independence.
For many stakeholders, the current controversy has become more than a personnel matter. It is increasingly being viewed as an important test of Government’s commitment to respecting the independence of Sierra Leone’s public service broadcaster and allowing the Board of Trustees to exercise its statutory mandate free from political direction or executive interference, as envisaged by the SLBC Act, 2010.