(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a MISA press release: VICTORY: Botswana government not to interfere in regulating advertising All government ministries and departments are free to choose the medium they consider relevant to run their advertisements, and there are no plans to devise criteria on regulating advertising, says Communications, Science and Technology Minister Pelonomi Venson. […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a MISA press release:
VICTORY: Botswana government not to interfere in regulating advertising
All government ministries and departments are free to choose the medium they consider relevant to run their advertisements, and there are no plans to devise criteria on regulating advertising, says Communications, Science and Technology Minister Pelonomi Venson.
Venson said that, when selecting a medium, government, like all purchasers of advertising space, was guided by certain factors such as circulation, coverage and quality of the newspapers and broadcasting organisations that sell advertising.
As with all other commodities, with advertising the purchaser must be allowed freedom to choose, said Venson.
Venson’s statement came in response to an inquiry from MP Botsalo Ntuane, who had asked whether the minister was considering devising a criterion that would ensure that government advertising from all ministries and departments was distributed fairly and equitably to all private newspapers and broadcasting organisations.
BACKGROUND:
On 1 May 2001, the editors of the “Botswana Guardian” and the “Midweek Sun” intercepted a memorandum in which the then-Permanent Secretary in Botswana’s Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications was communicating, to para-state organisations and departments in his ministry, a decision purportedly taken by Cabinet to withdraw advertising from the “Botswana Guardian” and the “Midweek Sun” newspapers. A week later another memo surfaced ‘outlawing’ purchase of the two newspapers by government departments, public libraries, national archives and other government departments. The newspapers successfully challenged the ban in court.
However, similar bans are still being enforced on “The Namibian” newspaper in Namibia. In December 2001, MISA reported on a Cabinet decision to have government agencies stop advertising in “The Namibian” because of what were termed its “anti-government policies.” This was followed by a presidential directive, some months later, instructing that no copies of “The Namibian” should be purchased with government funds.
The editor of “The Namibian”, Ms. Gwen Lister, told MISA that the ban affected about six percent of the newspaper’s advertising revenue and so has had a minimal effect on its operations.
“What we’ve most feared was a ‘knock-on’ effect with state-owned enterprises and private businesses following suit. With few exceptions, such as the ruling party itself, these fears have not been realised,” she said.
Denial of advertising is a relatively new weapon in the arsenals of various governments, both in Africa and elsewhere, in attempting to silence critics in the independent press.
