Burkina: Journalists must serve their country, recalls the Prime Minister

The head of government, Dr. Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambèla, on Tuesday urged Burkinabe journalists to participate in building their country."The journalist must help build his country, not simply do journalism for journalism's sake," said Prime Minister Dr. Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambèla.The head of government spoke on Tuesday in Ouagadougou, after an audience granted to the president of the Higher Council of Communication (CSC), Wendingoudi Louis Modeste Ouédraogo.According to the Prime Minister, Burkina Faso must follow an independent path, adapted to its realities and comply with its own standards of democracy and freedom of the press."The real problem is that many of our citizens have adopted Western mentalities without questioning them. Westerners themselves have built themselves through practices far from the ideals they advocate today, such as democracy or freedom of the press," he said.However, according to Dr. Kyelem de Tambèla, we must first guarantee the subsistence of our population befor e talking about these notions.For the Head of Government, countries such as Iran and China are examples in terms of development despite restrictions on freedom of the press and the use of social networks.According to him, "in Iran, for example, WhatsApp or TikTok are difficult to access, but this has not prevented the country from developing. Similarly, in China, information is strictly regulated. Despite this, these nations have achieved a remarkable level of development thanks to discipline and rigor."For Dr. Kyélem de Tambèla, Burkina Faso must draw inspiration from these examples, by channeling information to serve the interests of the country and contribute to its development."Everything we do in life must have a goal, that is to say, we must know where we are going. For us, it is over so all we must do now is think about the happiness of our children, their future. We must build the country so that those who come after us know that people have thought of them," he said.Burkina Faso has been fa cing terrorist attacks since 2015 and is counting on its sons and daughters to win the war and establish a solid foundation for its future.Source: Burkina Information Agency