Deborah Rayner (senior vice president of international news gathering for TV and digital at CNN International), Thomas Evans (CNN London bureau chief), dr. Reginald Mengi (IPP chairperson) and Nico Meyer (MultiChoice Africa CEO).
Africa's journalists have a collective responsibility to reveal and tell the truth, to expose corruption and to accurately report what they see, the continent's journalists were told at the welcoming dinner of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2014 held on Thursday evening in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
The 19th CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards will take place on Saturday evening at the Mlimani conference centre in Dar es Salaam in the East African country, when some of the best journalists across the continent will be honoured for their work the past year.
It's the first time that Africa's most prestigious competition celebrating journalism is taking place in Tanzania.
"African journalists have to take the responsibility to report and reveal the truth so that people can understand the situation. Through the media it is possible to abolish corruption," said dr. Reginald Mengi.
"Once you journalists and media in general use your pens and voices, corruption will end and economic development will be seen vividly. When writing or reporting, you should focus on the future of the African continent by revealing hidden truths, which in one way or another hinders African development."
Dr. Reginald Mengi said African journalists have the opportunity to report what they experience and witness themselves.
"Your reporting can improve African development as well as the lives of people. Africa is not poor. Africa is rich.
