By Sulaiman Jalloh
In a bold stride toward deepening democratic governance and strengthening institutional accountability, the Government of Sierra Leone no July 2025 has approved two landmark national policies: the National Media and Information Policy and the National Records Management and Archives Policy.
These historic approvals signal a renewed commitment by the Cabinet to uphold press freedom, ensure citizen access to information, and establish a modern system for preserving public records in both digital and physical formats.
The National Media and Information Policy is designed to promote responsible journalism, protect media practitioners, and ensure that stories reflecting the diversity of Sierra Leone’s people and cultures are told in all national languages.
The policy encourages the growth of an inclusive and professional media landscape, providing a framework that balances freedom of expression with ethical standards in reporting. It also seeks to empower marginalized voices and increase media literacy among the public.
This policy is a victory for press freedom and an important tool for strengthening our democracy, said a government official familiar with the development. “It ensures that no community is left behind in the national dialogue.”
Alongside the media policy, the National Records Management and Archives Policy introduces a unified system for organizing, securing, and accessing public records, both digital and traditional.
This policy aims to modernize how government institutions store, retrieve, and safeguard official documents, enhancing transparency, reducing information loss, and supporting data-driven decision-making. It also seeks to preserve Sierra Leone’s national history and institutional memory for future generations.
Officials say the new system will strengthen the effectiveness of public service delivery by improving documentation and reducing administrative bottlenecks.
Together, the two policies form a cornerstone of Sierra Leone’s broader efforts to increase government openness, foster public trust, and improve governance outcomes, By promoting open access to public information and reinforcing protections for journalists, the policies reflect a growing acknowledgment that free and informed citizens are essential to national development.
Civil society organizations, media practitioners, and public sector leaders have welcomed the cabinet’s decision, calling it a milestone in Sierra Leone’s democratic evolution, the implementation phase is expected to include nationwide capacity building, technical support for records digitization, and increased collaboration with media organizations.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday,7th July, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
