Continuity In Change
By: Political PerspectiveI MUST say that 'political speak' is sometimes totally confounding, and Information Minister Nangolo Mbumba's 'continuity in change' speech at the NBC this week still has me puzzled.
Of course, there is a distinct advantage in obscure speech
sometimes, because it is hellishly difficult to interpret and/or
report on, and this may account for the fact that there appear to
be different journalistic 'takes' in the local media on what he had
to say.
WHILE it is not Mbumba's fault that he is heading a Ministry
that doesn't deserve to be in existence for it serves no good
purpose (and I'm sure his creative talents could be put to better
use elsewhere), it nevertheless presents the Minister with a
dilemma each time he has to make some form of public address.
Loosely translated, it seems as though the purpose of this
Ministry is to tell the media what to do, and so Mbumba must truly
grapple with ideas when it comes to official pronouncements.
But he dealt with it all fairly gracefully this week: a bit of
the carrot (congratulating the media on giving up holiday time to
cover the tsunami catastrophe); a bit of stick, (reminders again on
the need for objectivity and sticking to the facts) and a bit more
of the usual 'be nice to Africa in your reporting' which
politicians generally tout in an attempt to remind journalists that
patriotism begins at home, and you shouldn't attack them too much
when they mess up because it gives our continent a bad name.
So I shouldn't really single out Mbumba for doing something
which is common speech fare among Africa's politicians at this
point in time.
Anyhow, to get back to the subject of what one says as
Information Minister, it is truly a difficult task.
There you have a whole phalanx of state-owned media, which are
mainly 'self-governing' in the sense that they have their own
boards and bosses, and it is only really State House which they
have to worry about overruling them.
Their respective budgets must be the real nightmare, and the
reason why being given this portfolio means you've been relegated
to the political sidelines.
But I know that Mbumba really tried to do justice to his title,
and a little bird has it that he even took the unprecedented (yes,
and even brave) step, early last year, of submitting a memo to
Cabinet in an attempt to get the advertising/purchase ban on The
Namibian set aside prior to the Presidential and national
elections, but to no avail.
Our President, it is said, simply wasn't receptive to this
idea.
So how can one blame the incumbent for therefore making speeches
about 'continuity in change'? It is definitely safer than to try to
have a say on aspects of media, for example, and be brushed
aside.
The real Minister of Information, in any case, is currently
still in State House.
Mbumba said: "As a nation, we'll have the inauguration of a new
President and the appointment of new Cabinet members, so politics
will be continuity in change".
In other words, everything will go on exactly the same way it
did, but there'll be some new faces.
So what then is the point of new faces, if they're not going to
'change' the 'continuity'? Truly, if one thinks about this phrase
long enough, one would be a good candidate for a stint in
rehab.
But the Minister is a seasoned diplomat, and knew better than to
simply come down on the heads of the media.
Enough to please the State House incumbent, but not too much to
get the press up in arms.
His one criticism of the media though, namely that there are
people in this country who still can't tune in to the NBC, and
others who can't get hold of a newspaper in far-flung areas, needs
a rebuttal.
At least the latter part of his accusation.
Does he, or government for that matter, have any idea of the
costs incurred by print media to get relatively small numbers of
newspapers to all areas of this country?
Do they facilitate this in any way by means of adequate
transport infrastructure and/or special rates to make information
accessible to the people of this country?
The short answer is 'no', they do not.
And if the Minister would like to explore this further, we are
happy to meet with him on this and other related subjects.
And while we're at it, we'd be more than happy to talk to him
about his 'continuity in change' ideas as well.
Finally, my condolences to the Minister, because it is not an
enviable task he has on his hands, or lack thereof, should I
say.
It would be a good idea if the 'change' aspect of the
'continuity' theory meant that the incoming President would decide
to trash the Ministry of Information as an outdated concept, which
is a waste of both time and money, and give the good Minister a
portfolio which could do him justice and vice versa.
WHILE it is not Mbumba's fault that he is heading a Ministry that
doesn't deserve to be in existence for it serves no good purpose
(and I'm sure his creative talents could be put to better use
elsewhere), it nevertheless presents the Minister with a dilemma
each time he has to make some form of public address.Loosely
translated, it seems as though the purpose of this Ministry is to
tell the media what to do, and so Mbumba must truly grapple with
ideas when it comes to official pronouncements.But he dealt with it
all fairly gracefully this week: a bit of the carrot
(congratulating the media on giving up holiday time to cover the
tsunami catastrophe); a bit of stick, (reminders again on the need
for objectivity and sticking to the facts) and a bit more of the
usual 'be nice to Africa in your reporting' which politicians
generally tout in an attempt to remind journalists that patriotism
begins at home, and you shouldn't attack them too much when they
mess up because it gives our continent a bad name.So I shouldn't
really single out Mbumba for doing something which is common speech
fare among Africa's politicians at this point in time.Anyhow, to
get back to the subject of what one says as Information Minister,
it is truly a difficult task.There you have a whole phalanx of
state-owned media, which are mainly 'self-governing' in the sense
that they have their own boards and bosses, and it is only really
State House which they have to worry about overruling them.Their
respective budgets must be the real nightmare, and the reason why
being given this portfolio means you've been relegated to the
political sidelines.But I know that Mbumba really tried to do
justice to his title, and a little bird has it that he even took
the unprecedented (yes, and even brave) step, early last year, of
submitting a memo to Cabinet in an attempt to get the
advertising/purchase ban on The Namibian set aside prior to the
Presidential and national elections, but to no avail.Our President,
it is said, simply wasn't receptive to this idea.So how can one
blame the incumbent for therefore making speeches about 'continuity
in change'? It is definitely safer than to try to have a say on
aspects of media, for example, and be brushed aside.The real
Minister of Information, in any case, is currently still in State
House.Mbumba said: "As a nation, we'll have the inauguration of a
new President and the appointment of new Cabinet members, so
politics will be continuity in change".In other words, everything
will go on exactly the same way it did, but there'll be some new
faces.So what then is the point of new faces, if they're not going
to 'change' the 'continuity'? Truly, if one thinks about this
phrase long enough, one would be a good candidate for a stint in
rehab.But the Minister is a seasoned diplomat, and knew better than
to simply come down on the heads of the media.Enough to please the
State House incumbent, but not too much to get the press up in
arms.His one criticism of the media though, namely that there are
people in this country who still can't tune in to the NBC, and
others who can't get hold of a newspaper in far-flung areas, needs
a rebuttal.At least the latter part of his accusation.Does he, or
government for that matter, have any idea of the costs incurred by
print media to get relatively small numbers of newspapers to all
areas of this country? Do they facilitate this in any way by means
of adequate transport infrastructure and/or special rates to make
information accessible to the people of this country? The short
answer is 'no', they do not.And if the Minister would like to
explore this further, we are happy to meet with him on this and
other related subjects.And while we're at it, we'd be more than
happy to talk to him about his 'continuity in change' ideas as
well.Finally, my condolences to the Minister, because it is not an
enviable task he has on his hands, or lack thereof, should I say.It
would be a good idea if the 'change' aspect of the 'continuity'
theory meant that the incoming President would decide to trash the
Ministry of Information as an outdated concept, which is a waste of
both time and money, and give the good Minister a portfolio which
could do him justice and vice versa.