(MISA/IFEX) – On 13 February 2006, a day before the opening of the fourth Parliament, Namibian media institutions were informed in a press statement that only photographers of the national news agency would be allowed on the floor during the opening ceremony. The press release further requested that media practitioners utilise the services of the […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 13 February 2006, a day before the opening of the fourth Parliament, Namibian media institutions were informed in a press statement that only photographers of the national news agency would be allowed on the floor during the opening ceremony.
The press release further requested that media practitioners utilise the services of the Namibian Press Agency (Nampa), even though not all media outlets are subscribed to the news service.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Namibia immediately raised its concern with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo Ben Gurirab, and requested that the limitation on the media be done away with. MISA pointed out that the ‘Agenda for Change’, contained in Parliamentary Document Article 8.7, clearly stipulates that:
“There is an urgent need to create a better understanding on both sides regarding the democratic role of the media can play and the acceptance that media coverage will, and must be critical if it is to perform that role effectively. The media make mistakes in every country in the world. As long as they are willing to correct these mistakes, these too should be regarded as part and parcel of a normal and robust democratic relationship. Public awareness and understanding would be greatly enhanced by making the work of both Parliament and the Executive more transparent by opening up access to information”.
However, on 14 February 2006, MISA was able to confirm that journalists and photographers from a wide range of media houses, including the state-controlled Nampa and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), were not restricted from covering the event. The ban was lifted but only, in MISA’S opinion, as a result of the organisation’s appeal to the Speaker of Parliament and government’s subsequent weighing of the potential fallout from keeping the ban in place.
BACKGROUND:
MISA continues to lobby for the transformation of the NBC into a public service broadcaster. At present the NBC is widely seen as a mouthpiece of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) Party, which holds more than two thirds of the seats in Parliament.
Like the NBC, the state news agency Nampa, is managed and controlled by the Minister of Information.
MISA has continuously expressed its fear of the dangers of single-party control of the national broadcaster, a fear exacerbated by the fact that the NBC has the widest reach of any news medium in the country. The NBC broadcasts in a variety of local languages and has the most transmitters in a country with a largely illiterate population.
The Namibian government’s press freedom record is further tarnished by former President Nujoma having imposed bans on the English daily, “The Namibian”, a newspaper celebrated locally and internationally for its serious and independent journalism. Officials have made no attempt to hide the fact that the bans, in place since March 2001, were being used to intimidate the paper economically. According to Namibian authorities, the bans are necessary because of the paper’s “campaign of dangerous misinformation . . . which threatens the principles of unity, peace and stability that form the very foundation of our nation, and not just because the newspaper criticizes government.”
