PUL New Prexy Unveils Ambitious Plan Accountability, Advocacy, Audit, Headquarters Project Top Agenda

Julius Kanubah, recently elected new President by Liberian journalists to steer the affairs of their umbrella organization, Press Union of Liberia (PUL), was inaugurated yesterday, October 1, 2024, unveiling quite an ambitious plan, vowing that the “PUL is here to stay for good”.

At the top of deliverables for his administration’s three-year reign are ensuring an accountable leadership, embarking on impartial advocacy, resuming construction of the headquarters of the Union, audit of the immediate past, and establishing media hubs, amongst other things.  

Delivering his inaugural address, Kanubah promised to set-up and enforce mechanisms of accountability for all elected officers, chairpersons and members of permanent/standing committees, the support staff, and regional/county coordinators.

He said his leadership will conduct constitutional mini-congress to make annual progressive and financial reports at the end of every fiscal year.

The plan of the new PUL leader include what he called impartial advocacy, asserting, “we will work to uphold and enforce ethical standards of journalism aiming to deepen journalistic and media professionalism; responsibly engage the Liberian Government on finding solutions to national issues bordering on the survival of the nation and its people”.

Kanubah also said constructing PUL headquarter complex – a project that has been a longstanding challenge for the Union is a priority.

“We have had four presidents who promised a headquarters,” he said. “Today, I wish to announce that we will Establish a Special Resource Mobilization and Project Implementation Committee of credible media, Government and civil society actors for PUL Headquarters construction.”

Regarding his plan to support for women in journalism, he said his administration will actively engage media owners, managers, and editors to expand and advance the career and leadership roles of female journalists and media practitioners through the Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL) to train, build capacity, and seek fellowship opportunities and programs for Female journalists.

On media development, Kanubah said: “We will vigorously engage in institutional capacity-building and training programs to ensure the viability and productivity of the Union and its membership; initiate and reactive discussions and negotiations with media owners, managers, editors and media practitioners regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement dealing with the service of work conditions and health insurance scheme for journalists and media workers; Convene working sessions and panels to reach common understanding regarding the introduction and enforcement of improved salaries of journalists and media workers; Forge good partnerships with the Liberian Government, media development organizations and other partners to improve media economy and institutional context.”

He promised also to reactivate and strengthen regional and international networks with journalism and media organizations including the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), National Democracy Endowment (NED), West African Journalists Association (WAJA), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA); and Strengthen partnership and relationship for effective and smooth functioning of constituent/affiliate auxiliaries including Publishers Association of Liberia (PAL), Reporters Association of Liberia (RAL), Sports Writers Association of Liberia (SWAL), Foreign Stringers Association, Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL), and media workers associations.

He thanked the United States Government for its continuous support to the media in Liberia through USAID-funded Media Activity, being implemented by Internews and its network of media alliances.

“We also thank all partners for standing by and with the media. We will knock on your doors in the coming days, weeks, and months,” he noted.

The Kanubah administration’s ambitious plan also includes the formation of media hubs.

According to him, under his leadership, the PUL will establish and activate one media hub in each of the fourteen counties as sub-chapters of the Union, develop and activate leadership and permanent/standing committee structures of media hubs, and develop and enforce a cost-benefit-sharing arrangement to ensure each media hub is financially/materially empowered from the resources mobilized by the PUL.

According to him, he and his team will ensure each media hub conducts monitoring and evaluation of journalistic practices and the operations of the media for the annual awards of county-based and regional journalists in addition to the PUL Annual Awards.

On auditing the immediate past leadership of the Union, Kanubah asserted: “To implement our agenda we will count and enlist your support, resources, ideas, suggestions, recommendations, and criticisms. And as a mark of good leadership in terms of transparently accounting for the transition from one elected and or serving administration to another, we hereby announce that there will be a comprehensive financial, system, and compliance audits of the PUL covering the leadership of the most immediate elected past officers from the 2019 Congress and subsequent elections as well as all transactions undertaken during the course of our crisis, especially from the third week of November 2022 up to the period of the inaugural ceremonies undertaken by the Interim Committee and the Joint Inaugural Committees.”

He said though his administration seeks to reconcile our Union, “let us not forget that reconciliation in the absence of accountability and justice remains elusive if we don’t hold people accountable for their stewardship.”

“As we take over the Union today,” he averred, “it is important to know how we are entering and what we are meeting there. This is the beginning of what we stand for when it comes to the first pillar of our agenda, accountability. Findings and recommendations from these reports will be fully implemented where necessary in order to reset and guide the PUL forward.”

The new PUL prexy also announce there will be a comprehensive review of Union Constitution to include the vexing or emerging question of our Membership Categories inclusive of who should or must be eligible for the Full Membership, Associate Membership, Affiliate Membership, and Institutional Membership categories.

He said: “Aware of the rigid and apparently precedent setting work of the Interim Committee on some of our Full Members who did transition to politics through political appointments or through running or canvassing for national political office or canvassing as party stalwarts or individual political stalwart for politicians, the review will consider the best way forward.

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