SAJA Elects New Executive

The Africa Group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Southern Africa Journalists Association (SAJA) elected a new executive during its congress on Saturday, 8 August, 2015 at the Cresta Jameson, Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe.

This was reportedly an effort to support sub-regional groups of unions to take up their responsibilities in order to promote the development and strengthening of independent and democratic journalists' trade unions and associations under the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ).

Zimbabwe Union of Journalists posted that representatives from seven national journalists' unions from Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi, the Republic of South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe attended the Congress, with the notable absence of Angola.

Speaking at the Congress, outgoing SAJA President, Felile Celestina Moholi, said that "SAJA has been going through tremendous difficulties over the last three years, largely due as a result of the closure of its secretariat in Johannesburg, South Africa.  However, the member unions in the region have never relented in demonstrating their commitment to respond to the needs of the association, most especially in attending and participating effectively in the activities of the association".

For the outgoing SAJA President, Felile Celestina Moholi,"This Congress therefore will offer SAJA the opportunity to turn on a new page and to take up its rightful place in the defense for the rights and welfare of journalists and media workers in the Southern Africa region". she also added that "SAJA, had been in constant touch with journalists and media workers in Botswana and Namibia in an attempt to unionize them but so far this has not materialized.  However, SAJA still sees this as one of its top priorities".

The Congress elected Michael Chideme of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) as the new President of SAJA, while Eduardo Joao Constantino of the Mozambique Journalists Union was elected as the Vice – President.  Thembeka Dlamini of the Media Workers Union of Swaziland (MWUS) was elected as the new Treasurer of SAJA, while Charles Mukula of the Journalists Union of Malawi (JUMA) and former Presiden,t Felile Celestina Moholi, of the Journalists Union of Lesotho (JUL) were elected First and Second Executive Committee members.  The new executive committee is mandated to steer the affairs of the association for the next three years.

Prior to the Congress, representatives of the various unions in the region, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) held a daylong seminar on the "Freedom of Association and Labour Rights."  The Seminar deliberated on issues concerning the freedom of association and labour rights in the Southern Africa region in regards to Convention 87 and 98 of the ILO; challenges facing female journalists in the unions in Southern Africa; journalists and trade union rights and the issue of collective bargaining.

The Country Reports revealed that unions across the Southern Africa region are facing serious challenges most especially in terms of recruiting new members into their unions.  These reports also revealed a serious dwindling down of members in the unions across the region. Some union representatives called for the need to change recruitment strategies while at the same time making the recruitment policies of the unions more attractive to journalists and media workers, most especially those coming new into the profession.

Participants at the Seminar also expressed concern about the unprecedented retrenchment that is currently gripping the Zimbabwean media sector, resulting in the loss of jobs and means of livelihood for numerous journalists and media workers in Zimbabwe.  The participants at the Seminar called on the Zimbabwean Government and media employers to do everything possible to remedy this devastating trend.

The Seminar and Congress were funded by the IFJ through the Union to Union Project (2014 – 2016)