(Ecofin Agency) - In Gabon, private Medias are pressuring the Minister of Communication so he releases the subsidy they have been expecting for the past 3 months. Finally, Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nzé responded on February 18, 2016, GabonReview said.

“As long as the law is not respected, there will be no subsidy,” said the Minister of Communication. “A number of conditions must be met in order to receive the subsidy. And no complaining is going to change that: This, even if it means that no one will have it”.

This call was addressed to all private Medias that fail to respect communication’s regulation. “This subsidy has existed for over 10 years. We just want the law to be respected. We want those establishing communication companies and entities to respect the regulation in place,” the minister said. “The subsidy aims to encourage those who respect this regulation,” he added. According to Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nzé, a commission will be established to study the applications for the state subsidy.

Given the situation, online press will be excluded since “it does not operate under any regulation”, the minister said. Digital editors do not understand this turn of events since they are not the one setting the rules, on one hand, and also because they have been receiving this subsidy for 5 years. Other press editors accuse the minister of “using the regulation to favor some Medias” and also as a way “to settle scores with others”.