Fonds d'appui à la presse : pourquoi le procureur a ordonné l'audition du directeur de la Communication
Following his controversial statement on the distribution of press support funds, Mame Makhtar Guèye was questioned yesterday at the Urban Security premises of the Central Police Station in Dakar.
As reported by Seneweb, the head of Jamra summoned Ibrahima Lissa Faye, head of the Coordination of Press Associations of Senegal (CAP), and Habibou Dia, Director of Communication at the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Affairs (MCTN), to appear before investigators. Having been informed, the public prosecutor at the Dakar High Court ordered their questioning.
What exactly happened?
On RFM radio, Ibrahima Lissa Faye denounced the way the funds were allegedly distributed, citing beneficiaries with supporting figures: "The private press received 500 million CFA francs and some change. At the same time, public service media and CESTI benefited from more than one billion CFA francs. There is inequality in the distribution of funds," he declared, making serious accusations against the Ministry of Communication.
Some time later, in a video published by Sénégal 7 and given to investigators, Mame Makhtar Guèye went further, stating that "aid to the press is available, but the ministry's services have been playing games." He detailed the historical evolution of this aid:
“During Abdou Diouf’s time, press subsidies were estimated at 700,000 CFA francs. During Abdoulaye Wade’s time, it was 1 billion, and during Macky Sall’s time, 1.9 billion CFA francs. When Pastef came to power, the authorities took 1 billion to distribute to media companies that promote and praise them, and 900 million for the others, telling them: fend for yourselves. Only three television stations received press subsidies, and perhaps a dozen online media outlets. All the rest… (sédeulé bouki lagn ko def. Bi bouki bi ndiour bi samba. Li niaw na). So we sympathize.”
These two statements were deemed defamatory and likely to damage the credibility of the Press Development Support Fund (FADP) and to bring disgrace upon the members of its Management Board.
As a result, the MCTN's Communications Department reportedly sent a report to the public prosecutor.
According to the document, the allegations of Mame Makhtar Guèye and associates amount, according to the same source, to a "clearly defined undertaking of spreading false news, systematic defamation and deliberate manipulation of public opinion", likely to "seriously undermine the integrity of public debate" and to create "a harmful climate of confusion, distrust and unrest" among the population.
According to our sources, the summons of the Director of Communication is part of an effort to "bring to the public's attention factual, verifiable and irrefutable elements, in order to rigorously and clearly restore the truth of the facts."
Our contact is adamant: the ongoing publication of the FADP report "cannot in any way be used as a pretext to tolerate the dissemination of defamatory remarks or false information."
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