MURAMVYA, May 30th (ABP) – The General Management of the Burundi News Agency (ABP) is satisfied with the performance of the provincial correspondents and recommends that they continue in the same vein, especially in the collection of balanced news that reaches all socio-professional strata.
That was discussed on Tuesday, 28 May 2024, at a two-day capacity-building workshop held in Muramvya (center-west).
Opening the workshop, the Information and Editorial Director, Esper Noël Ngendakumana, expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the provincial correspondents, stressing that it was thanks to that that they continued to win awards in various competitions organised by media organisations. He urged them to continue in the same vein, especially in diversifying their angles, in line with the editorial line of the said house and with professional ethics and deontology.
During his presentation, the head of ABP’s network of provincial correspondents, Dr. Onésime Ndayizeye, pointed out that as a journalist, you don’t write for yourself but rather for the public, both local and international. For that reason, he urged correspondents to provide balanced information that solves any problem that has already arisen, rather than chasing scoops.
What’s more, he said, all journalists are called upon to work on subjects that can boost socio-economic and political development. During the discussions, ABP’s provincial correspondents made it clear that they work in critical conditions. For example, they suggested that ABP’s general management should grant them mission expenses, especially when they travel beyond the capital of their commune of residence, as other public media such as Burundi National Radio and Television (RTNB) and Burundi Press Publications (PPB) do. They insisted that it was deplorable for a correspondent to use his or her own resources when descending on Bujumbura for a work assignment.
The correspondents also suggested that they be given fuel in real time to prevent them from being paralysed in their daily work. Given that they received motorbikes almost two years ago, those same journalists asked that consideration be given to making spare parts available, in particular batteries, transmissions, mileage cables, bumpers, rims and so on.