Niger Govt. Urged to exempt Media Organisations from TSA for optimal services. – MD Newsline.
The Acting Managjng Director of Newsline Newspaper Aisha Abubakar, has warned that staff promotion in the organisation will strictly be on merit, based on the performance of the individual.
Speaking during a meeting she held with the Editorial staff of the organization in her office on Friday, she explained that the usual practice whereby staff were promoted every three years or when they present additional paper qualifications would no longer be tenable if such staff did not perform his or her duties satisfactorily.
Aisha stated that such type of promotion does not encourage productivity and efficiency, saying that she was determined to effect a change in the attitude of staff towards work and will stop the promotion of staff who were not working but waiting to collect salaries at the end of every month, and as well as waiting for three years to get promotion without doing anything.
She disclosed further that any officer due for promotion in the organization will be meticulously assessed, pointing out that good conduct, punctuality to work, respect for seniority will be some of the criteria to be considered before anyone was promoted.
The acting managing director who also spoke on the operations of online edition of Newsline inspite of the challenges being faced by operators, however commended reporters for their resilence in keeping the online version of the paper alive with their reports and urged those who were not doing much by contributing stories to wake up from their slumber and do the needful as motivation will only be given to the hardworking staff when the need arises.
On the suspension of production of hard copies of Newsline Newspaper by her management, which she attributed to the introduction of Treasury Single Account ( TSA) by the state government, stressing that anytime government announced the exemption of Media organizations from TSA, she will not hesitate to resume the hard copy production of the newspaper.
“It is not my fault that Newsline hard copies are not on the street, I am ready to work by ensuring that the production of hard copies resume as soon as the government remove Newsline from TSA arrangements which has been an obstacle to our operations over some times now.
“I cannot do anything regarding the production of papers as long as the problem of TSA remain unsolved by the state government,” she added.
Aisha Abubakar informed the editoral staff that the meeting was aimed at encouraging them to put in more efforts in their various endeavors and chart a way forward towards actualization of the set objectives of the paper.
She therefore called for the support and cooperation of all the staff to enable her succeed.
Speaking also during the meeting, the organization News Editor, Uriah Gana, commended the Acting managing director of the organization for her zeal and determination to work for the progress of the organization, which were tailored towards bringing a change that will correct the wrongs in the past.
While appreciating her for her efforts in given priority attention to staff welfare by providing factors that motivate the staff, especially those from editorial department, he urged the reporters to reciprocate the gesture by remaining committed to their jobs.
He admonished then to always report their challenges in their various beats to the head of department in order to proffer a lasting solution.
He also tasked the reporters to write features or news analysis on regular basis for use, not necessarily waiting for ceremonial activities which he acknowledged, were not always available.
Similar meeting was held with staff members of other departments in the organization.
