According to the Secretary General of the Union of Angolan Journalists (SJA), the situation of the media, especially the private media, "was already complicated even before the pandemic", advocating the "urgent implementation" of the Incentives Law provided for in the Press Law.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, Teixeira Cândido recalled that the main source of revenue for the media is advertising, which according to the agencies, "has fallen to 60 percent," now aggravated by the covid-19 pandemic, because "now almost no one advertises.
"The situation is very critical and, therefore, there is a need to approach state organs to see what they can do," he pointed out, questioning concrete support for the media in the recent tax relief package created by the state.
The union leader said that even the country's major media groups are having difficulties paying salaries, with some "with two months to go" due to cash flow problems.
"The proposal is to approach the competent authorities so that they can look at this sector, because they also house workers and the situation is very critical," he said, ensuring that "the survival of the Angolan media is at stake.
For his part, the president of the Institute for Social Communication of Southern Africa (MISA) Angola, André Mussamo, expressed doubts about the possibility of the government helping the private media.
"This is because the history shows us that the Government is not very friendly with the private media," he said in an interview with Lusa.
In a tight situation due to the economic and financial crisis now worsened by covid-19, Mussamo says he does not believe that the authorities will now come to the rescue of the private press, saying that the current situation "is sad, worrying, regrettable".
Certain bodies, he added, "are already advancing the possibility of reducing teams by half, cancelling employment contracts, or even paying March's salary by half".
"Let's simply hope that the shareholders, the bodies and the management are ingenious and find alternatives to at least safeguard the jobs of these professionals who are ultimately heads of households," he concluded.
