HOW THE MEDIA IN CAMEROON IS FAILING TO HOLD THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE.

By Edwin -

Cameroon is a country in Central Africa that has been facing political and ethnic tensions for several years. The media in Cameroon is failing to hold the government accountable for its actions, which is contributing to the country's instability. 


The media in Cameroon is not free and independent. The government controls most of the media outlets in the country, and journalists who criticize the government are often harassed, arrested, or even killed. According to the 2022 Freedom in the World report by Freedom House, Cameroon is rated as "not free" in terms of press freedom. This means that the media in Cameroon is not able to operate freely and independently, and is subject to government censorship and control.

The lack of press freedom in Cameroon has serious consequences for the country's democracy and stability. Without a free and independent media, the government is able to act with impunity and without accountability. This has led to widespread corruption, human rights abuses, and political repression. The government is able to suppress dissent and opposition, and to manipulate public opinion through its control of the media.

One of the most serious consequences of the lack of press freedom in Cameroon is the government's ability to suppress information about its actions. The government is able to control the narrative and to present a distorted view of events to the public by using the state media house crtv which many have subscribe as the state propaganda machine. Hardly can citizens watch programs on the state run broadcaster where minister s of the country are being held to account for not properly carrying out their jobs but rather programs run on the state tv is mostly geared towards praising the government in place and also the head of state. This only do more harm to democracy in the country. This makes it difficult for citizens to hold the government accountable for its actions, and to make informed decisions about their country's future.

The government has permitted private run media and print media to operate in the country but having most of these houses running in almost every region of the country has still not solve the issues of holding the government accountable because most of these houses are own by big politicians working for the regime in power so they turn to do almost the same job as the state propaganda machine. A case in point is the ongoing war in the country. Most private media are failing to ask government ministers the right questions concerning the root cause of the war but rather on several tv and radio debate the programs are always geared towards blaming both parties involve in the war. No matter how long or how much of a blame apportion to both parties, failure to ask the right question to the government authorities is also a failure on the part of the media.

It's times the media in Cameroon  copy what other media houses on the continent are doing. Nigeria is an example to copy from when it comes to how the media is run even though Nigeria may not be the best example too because Nigerian media houses also have their own challenges. Top government officials like governors, ministers are often seen every week on private media trying to answer very difficult questions from journalists concerning the well being of the citizen. This is what you may never fine in Cameroon. Government officials never shows up for Tv programs. The question most people are asking; is it the government that is scared to come on tv platforms and answer questions or is it the journalists that are not inviting them?.

Never the less if the media is really the fourth arm of the government as it is usually said, then the media is Cameroon need to be more active in holding the government accountable. No country became developed by singing praising to the government even when it's failing.





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