A private members’ bill was examined in the House with proposals for the proper organization of the assistance.

Senator Flavien Franck Rebela Rogombe of Port-Gentil  wants government’s subvention to private media in Gabon to be raised from the current FCFA 500 million per year to FCFA 2 billion.

The proposal is contained in a private member’s bill the members of the Committee on Finance, Budget and Public Accounts in Gabon’s Senate examined Thursday last week. The private member’s bill relates to the creation, organisation and functioning of government’s financial assistance to the country’s national private print, audiovisual, online and news agencies. Senator Flavien Franck Rebela Rogombe said the private member’s bill was intended to regulate public assistance to the private media, especially the subvention put in place since 2003.  The purpose for increasing the amount of the assistance, he said, will be to enable the media practitioners cope with the many daily challenges in the practice of the profession.

Many observers reports say, consider the advent of the private members’ bill as the end of suffering to proprietors of private media houses in Gabon. The Senators probably want Gabon to copy the examples of Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and France that give regulatory financial assistance to the private press for more than 40 years now. Reports say the subvention these countries give is far higher than the FCFA 500 million the Gabonese government gives out to the private media to share every year.