The Independent Media Commission (IMC) commissioners in Sierra Leone have informed the media that they have not received payment for the past eight months.
Nightwatch has reported that the Independent Media Commission (IMC) commissioners, who are mostly university lecturers, are dissatisfied with the government's decision to pay them only half their salary. The government allegedly informed them that they would not receive their expected salaries from the two government institutions because they are university lecturers. Instead, they will be paid per sitting fee at the commission. However, sources claim that the Ministry of Finance violated the IMC Act and that only parliament can recommend the commissioners' pay. Furthermore, the commissioners' lack of pay has resulted in their inability to attend meetings or perform their media monitoring duties effectively.
The government's rationale for not paying the commissioners' full salaries is disputed by sources who claim that the government intervened to pay lecturers' salaries when the university went broke. They argue that if the government is responsible for paying lecturers, then the commissioners should be paid their full salary for doing two jobs for the government. The commissioners allege that their attempts to resolve the issue have been ignored by the Minister of Information.