Africa-Press – Angola. The professional card of Angolan journalists, issued by the Commission for Portfolio and Ethics (CCE), begins to be renewed this May, a process that will run until June 2023, with a focus on improving the quality of this document.
The massive renewal process of the respective document, essential for the exercise of journalistic activity in the country, comes two years after the issue and attribution of the first cards to Angolan media professionals, in February 2021.
According to the president of the CCE, Luísa Rogério, more than half of the 3,025 licenses delivered so far have expired, a fact that requires immediate renewal.
Speaking on the theme “The operation of the CCE, during the 1st National Conference of Journalists, held Wednesday in Luanda, the official assured that the Commission will make some technical changes to improve the quality of the portfolios, taking into account the constant complaints professionals holding the current document.
“Many colleagues complained about the quality of the current portfolios, as there is not a perfect match between the pass and the pass holder, an aspect that is already being reviewed by the committee”, he assured.
On the other hand, Luísa Rogeiro referred that, so far, more than 200 portfolios are still in the CCE, because the respective owners did not go to pick them up.
He highlighted that the commission recorded a total of 43 audition processes of professionals who exercised their activity irregularly, of which four journalists were suspended.
He justified that most of the suspensions or irregularities are related to incompatibility issues, provided for in article 5 of the Journalist Statute.
“There are still many journalists who continue to do consultancy and advertising, allegedly because they have a low salary in the bodies where they work”, he detailed.
Due to this conduct, the president of the CCE underlined that five media bodies (two public and three private) were held accountable.
He highlighted that of the five bodies notified, only one paid the respective fine corresponding to the action of allowing two journalists to carry out the activity without a professional license.
He appealed for the need for all professionals to have the culture of denouncing cases of irregularities in the media, taking into account the monitoring limitations of the CCE.
Pursuant to paragraph 3 of article 24, of Law 5/17, the exercise of journalistic activity, by someone who is not duly qualified with the respective Professional Card, subjects the company to the payment of a fine in the amount of ten (10) minimum wages of the civil service and triple this value in case of recidivism.
The Portfolio and Ethics Committee is a body governed by public law, which is responsible for ensuring the operation of the accreditation system for media information professionals under the terms of Law number 5/17, of January 23, on the Journalist Statute.
Under the motto “For free, ethical and dignified journalism”, the 1st National Conference of Journalists was part of the World Press Freedom Day, which was celebrated on Wednesday.
During the event, which was attended by delegates from the country’s 18 provinces, journalists reflected on the themes “The legal dimension of freedom of the press”, “Access to information in rural areas and community radios” and “Self-regulation and the functioning of the media”.
The speakers also discussed the social conditions of journalists, the functioning of the Portfolio and Ethics Commission (CCE) and the function of the editorial boards and their relationship with the CCE.
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