Media self-regulation is best Recent utterances by government spokesperson Tjekero Tweya calling for the regulation of the Fourth Estate do not make for good reading. The minister is quoted as saying that his ministry will drive an agenda to put in place a statutory body to ensure that the media are held responsible and do not get away with murder. And if government gets its way, an instrument in the draft Information Bill would make provision for the establishment of such a body.
There is no doubt that the media in this country will find it harder to preserve its media freedom, which is ranked as the freest on the continent, if such a body is formed.
Calls to control the media are also a slap in the face for all the efforts that have gone into coming up with the famous Windhoek Declaration of 1991, which is an affirmation on promoting an independent and pluralistic media. Obviously government deserves enormous praise for providing an enabling space for the media to operate in without having to worry about restrictions on the exchange of news and information, as well as limitations on the circulation of newspapers, for instance. This is something that many other countries across the world don’t enjoy to this date.
An environment where journalists are free to operate without fear or interference from the powers that be is a healthy one. The right to freedom of expression has been at the core of the Namibian democracy for many years and government should not be allowed to use a state-run regulatory system over the existing self-regulating body.
This is unnecessary. The media ombudsman at the moment diligently handles and addresses public complaints against the media. The practice of self-regulation is best for our nation and needs to be improved if need be, going forward. There is absolutely no need for government to step in with its own sanctioned body to regulate the media.
The authorities must thus complement the efforts that have led to Namibia being classified as the freest on the continent.