We’ll address your challenges, Bayelsa Commissioner tells newspaper staff

As part of his ongoing tour of parastatals under his ministry, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson has visited the state owned newspaper corporation, New Waves.

The Commissioner who‎ acknowledged some of the challenges faced by staff of the corporation assured them that very soon the government will begin to turn things around which will allow for optimum performance.

He said the government is aware of the decay and complete absence of some essential working equipment in the corporation which has slowed their capacity but urged them not to be despondent.

Iworiso-Markson also charged them and other media Managers of government information to invest in modern devices and tools that will aid their work and enhance their capacity.

According to him, due to the competitive nature in the media business, there is need for government media practitioners to properly position themselves, raise their game, identify the frontline competitors and work towards improving the quality of their reports and general contents.

“We may not be able to do all because of the difficult financial situation of goverment but very soon you will start to see changes here. I need to appreciate all of you for the hardwork and dedication you have put in here despite the challenges. This is highly commendable.

“This media outfit is very important to us. This is because people want to read and‎ know what is happening and for a paper like New Waves with very experienced people, we need to raise the bar, we need to encourage you to equip yourselves with the most modern gadgets” he said.

The mouthpiece of the government used the opportunity to highlight some of the reforms of the present administration in the public sector which he noted is not aimed at witch hunting anyone but to clean up the system.

Earlier in his address, the General Manager of the Bayelsa State Newspaper Corporation, Mr. Alfred Egbegi had told the commissioner of the efforts of the management in making sure that New Waves is produced every week.

Egbegi who noted that Newspaper production is capital intensive decried the poor state of facilities and  equipment which included, printing machine, News Prints, Computers, operational vehicles, among others and appealed for assistance.

The Commissioner was accompanied by the Special Adviser on Public Affairs to Governor Seriake Dickson, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, the Senior Special Assistance to the Governor on Print Media, Mr. Soji Jibola and some Directors of the ministry.