RAL President Promises To Change ‘Narratives’

By Bill W. Cooper
Monrovia, Liberia -The recently inducted president of the Reporter’s Association of Liberia (RAL), Cecelia G. Clarke, says rebranding of the Association to an industrialized body that seeks to advocate for better wages, professional work spaces and the promotion of ethical practice of credibility in the media landscape are key to her leadership.
Madam Clarke said though she cherishes the integration of individuals in the profession, she still sees a serious challenge and is determined to do all along with members of her team to accomplish goals set in tackling them in order to justify the confidence through the mandate given them by all reporters across the country.
Speaking at her induction ceremony along with other elected officials on February 7, at the National Election Commission (NEC) headquarters in Monrovia, Madam Clarke said first and foremost, a team comprising the secretariat had begun compiling the status of all reporters into a data base across the country, adding that when completed, it will inform the leadership about the number of reporters at every media house in the country.
She noted that her leadership also intends to organize a reconciliatory forum to bring together reporters across the country to dialogue and include their recommendations into a plan of action as part of the next three years’ operational plan; promising that it is necessary as her leadership will run an inclusive RAL for the benefit of all reporters.
The RAL’s first female president added that the Association as an organization of all reporters is in all parts of the country and not Monrovia alone as it has practically been in the past and stressed that her team will ensure that the narrative is changed by decentralizing the activities of the Association but needs all hands on deck to achieve this.
Madam Clarke also said her leadership seeks ensure that the relevant committee reaches out to reporters in every counties consistently to understand what their problems and challenges are so that the leadership is able to adequately feed the Press Union of Liberia, the mother body with statistics.
She further promised that her leadership would ensure that every journalists in the various counties feel the impact of the RAL, pointing out, “To do this, my leadership shall institute programs and seek training opportunities from partners to build our capacities as we regard journalism as an avenue of service to our fellow men; as reporters everywhere around the Liberia are deserving of the privilege to make life noble and happier for them and their families.”
Madam Clarke then used the occasion to remind the Press Union of Liberia that her team is prepared to join forces to ensure that the Collective Bargaining Agreement is adhered to by media managers, stressing that the welfare of all journalist is a top priority of her leadership’s agenda for the next three years.
Serving as guest speaker, River Gee’s Representative, Francis Dopoh alarmed that poor leaderships suffer their members and create guilt by association as the citizenry are also experiencing from their lawmakers who head the most powerful branch of decision making in the government.
According to Rep. Dopoh, leadership with sectionalism, sycophancies, greed and ignorance bring tyranny, as citizens are also experiencing with the Executive Branch of Government which is said to be the second branch of government.
He added that poor judgment, unnecessary procedure and procrastination have beclouded the performance of judges coupled with the unsolved constraint for resources are also the situation citizens are experiencing with members of the Judiciary Branch of Government.