Among the characteristics of this situation is that many people would like to work in the field to obtain a per diem which is an amount of money granted by several organizing committees, which host conferences and other ceremonies in Mauritania, to journalists and other people related to journalism which is suffering from impunity and unethical behaviour. Some journalists who obtain this extra amount of money to cover events are exposed to blackmailing and pressure from some officials who use this per diem to exert pressure on these journalists to serve their personal objectives. This scourge has spread until a new kind of media known as a per diem media has emerged which led activists to launch calls to clean the arena and to professionalize and regulate it. Journalists are divided between those who support the idea of the per diem and look for it by all means and those who oppose it and ask to boycott it and impose professional rules and criteria over begging.
One of the journalists working for a Mauritanian TV channel named (F.M), defines per diem as a respectful compensation granted to journalists to cover conferences and other activities. It is also considered as part of the annual budget adopted by parliament and it has become legal. This per diem ranges between 10,000 and 40,000 ouguiya per person for a conference and between 40,000 and 50,000 ouguiya if the team includes all the staff such as the cameraman, the journalist and the driver. It sometimes goes down to reach 20,000 ouguiya. The per diem is always granted to journalists in general but priority of course goes to official media.
Most of the journalists we met who strongly encourage the idea of per diem refused to talk to us or to give testimonies on the issue which impeded our investigation to find someone who dares and speaks in favor of the financial compensation for media coverage .
One of the journalists answers the questions by saying:” I have been working as a journalist for seven years and have accepted many financial compensations. It did not influence my work. However, there are those who unfortunately who work unethically as they polish the image of some people and get instructions from them. Personally I have never faced any blackmail and has never been obliged to do something unethical. However, I know many colleagues who were forced to change the content of their articles .There are even some officials who distribute the per diem between journalists in a degrading and humiliating way with a clientelistic spirit. This often happens in public areas in front of the audience."
This justifications of those who support the per diem do not convince those who oppose it and consider it as a hidden corruption.
Ms. Nebghouha Mint Zidane, a journalist working for Radio Sahara media and a reporter in the Mauritanian TV says on the per diem:” Personally I don’t defend the idea of the per diem in news coverage during conferences for many reasons. First of all, I don’t like friendly relationships when they are at the expense of information. I believe that when it comes to telling the truth, journalists should be aloof from all kinds of influence. Unfortunately, as a reporter, I suffer ,on a daily basis, from this influence in an environment encouraging “media begging”. Sometimes, I don’t even introduce myself as a reporter to avoid anyone to try to change my writings." .
As for the journalist (A.H), he thinks that the per diem is a shame and a source of humiliation. He says:” Because of my job as a reporter in the Mauritanian Television, I travel every day around the country to cover events and activities. Most of the time I feel embarrassed when someone offers me a financial compensation that I personally consider as a bribe to influence my writings or to hide an information or sometimes to falsify facts. It is against my principles and against the professional ethics. Personally, I have never accepted any per diem and I have been offended by many officials because of such an attitude.”
As for the journalist in the Sahara Media Company, Mohamedi Moussa, he also refuses the per diem and says:” At first, you think that the per diem is a complementary payment for your honorable job, however, per diem is considered as the price of your dishonesty and disrespect to this job. Per diem is the price of your silence. I prefer to avoid this additional amount of money and be satisfied with my regular salary to do my job with the utmost loyalty.”
One of the journalists that has recently joined the media sector says:” I have always been wondering about the legitimacy of the per diem under these circumstances of unprofessionalism and I decided not to accept any per Diem until I ask one of my teachers whom I tremendously trust and who is famous for his honesty. I met the former President of the Media Union Dr. Al-Hussein Ould Medou, I asked him about the legitimacy of the per diem, he answered:” it does not exist only in Mauritania but also in many other countries as a compensation for journalists who do their work thoroughly and appropriately. Unfortunately in Mauritania, the per diem is used subjectively and suspiciously until it becomes a whole suspicious operation that leads to unprofessionalism and I personally advise my colleagues to avoid the per diem as much as they can.
