Representatives of the 17 registered political parties in Sierra Leone have on Friday January 21, 2022 assured that their parties will continue preaching about responsible way of using social media among its members.
They political parties made this commitment at a debate organised by the National Political Debates Committee (NPDC) at the New Brookfield’s Hotel in Freetown on the topic: “The role of political parties in promoting responsible use of social media”.
The National Public Relations Officer of People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) party, Samuel P. O. V Macauley, pointed out that they do not see the event as a debate but rather as a sensitization because they have seen social media as an important tools in elections across the world, noting that the USA election was influenced by the social media campaign and also it was central in the country’s 2018 general elections.
“As a party we have decided to use the social media to educate our members and discuss issues of national interest,” he said. “We have internal communications committee that monitors our various social media platforms for any misleading content which can create mayhem in the country.”
He disclosed that they intend to embark on massive campaign across the country so that their youths will not misuse social media. “We understand the destruction that one hate speech can cause. A single message can destroy the country, and as a party, we are ready to denounce anyone that failed to adhere to our party policy on the use of social media.”
The Secretary General of the National Young General of Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Dwight Z. K. Sheriff said that the information on social media goes a long way, and if they use social media responsible it will benefit them and the world as a whole.
He said that it’s a good idea to bring opposition parties together especially when the election year is approaching, stating that this is a preparatory stage for young people. “We will send out good messages instead of sending defamatory messages that will create negative signal about our political parties,” he said. “This is the right time to bringing the various registered political parties together because we are powerful in disseminating information.”
He stated that some of them are opinion leaders, and people are listening and following their posts on social media.
He disclosed that they do not allow hate speech in their various platforms.
A representative of the All People’s Congress (APC) party, Gunther Daramy said that political parties should be honest and sincere in their messaging.
The Chairman of NPDC, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla said that the mandate of the NPDC is to organise political debates at all levels of our governance structure if possible.
He stated that their goal is to use political debates to help deepen our democratic culture in Sierra Leone.
“We believe that debates will help our politicians to engage one another in a respectful and responsible manner, and also keep fellow citizens informed and focused on the development agenda of political parties and political actors,” he said.
“By organizing debates on policy issues, we aim to influence shifts in the mindsets of citizens from divisive factors such as tribal, ethnic and regional considerations to more substantive issues that could grow our national economy, improve essential national service delivery in the areas of healthcare, education, infrastructure, and food security, among other needs.”
He said that together with the political parties, they want to promote a culture of debate in our body politic, and increase citizens’ participation in the governance and democratic process, stating that as we approach the next national elections they want to urge Political party Youths to denounce violence in Elections and mobilise cross party initiatives for this.
“We also want the All Political Parties Youth Association (APPA) to be revived to help build a culture of political tolerance and peace among political party youths who are mostly the perpetrators and victims of political and electoral violence,” he said.
He said that as NPDC, and as member organisations, they have committed to remain non-partisan, unbiased, and respectful of our ethnic, tribal and political diversity as Sierra Leoneans.
He thanked NDI for their support thus far in formalising our existence as a committee and for orgainsing these first two debates.
The NPDC is a group of 11 diverse organizations including:
1. Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC)
2. Campaign for Good Governance (CGG)
3. Centre for the Coordination of Youth Affairs (CCYA)
4. Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC)
5. African young Voices AYV (TV)
6. Independent Radio Network (IRN)
7. National Literary and Debating Association (NaLDA)
8. Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI)
9. Institute for Governance Reform (IGR)
10. 50/50 Group and
11. Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ). The NPDC is non-partisan and not-for-profit organization.
By Stephen V Lansana