CABINET has finally decided to lift a 10-year-long advertising ban on The Namibian and to revoke former President Sam Nujoma’s decree that no Government department should buy copies of the newspaper.
The decision to rescind the ban was taken at this week’s Cabinet meeting, according to several people close to the Swapo-run Cabinet. The sources, who said President Hifikepunye Pohamba had strongly pushed for the end to the ban, indicated that an announcement was likely to be made soon once paperwork has been processed.Joel Kaapanda, the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, declined to comment about the Cabinet’s decision on the ban. ‘You should wait until a formal announcement, if at all there is something like that,’ he said. ‘I cannot comment on something that is not made public yet, otherwise I’ll be like those people who provided information to you illegally.’The Cabinet imposed the economic sanctions on this newspaper at the end of 2000 at Nujoma’s behest ‘because of its anti-government stance and unwarranted criticism of government policies’. After the official Cabinet decision in December 2000, Nujoma followed up with a Presidential directive that Government money should not be used to buy The Namibian, cutting off supply even to national and school libraries. The Government has continued to advertise in and purchase other newspapers.The Namibian is the country’s largest newspaper, printing between 32 500 and 46 500 copies a day and selling more than double its second-biggest competitor. It has a readership of about 200 000 a day and one copy is read by up to eight people, according to some research organisations.The Namibian learnt that many Cabinet members had long supported lifting the ban but out of deference to Nujoma few wanted to publicly raise the matter. Among those are people who were part of Nujoma’s Cabinet – Theo-Ben Gurirab, Hage Geingob, Nangolo Mbumba – and newer Ministers like Kazenambo Kazenambo and his deputy Pohamba Shifeta as well as Swapo Youth League secretary Elijah Ngurare.Latest available information suggests Pohamba initiated the move and had the support of most of his Swapo colleagues in Cabinet. The matter went through a Cabinet committee on overall policy before it was presented to the full Cabinet. The committee on overall policy consists of the President, Prime Minister Nahas Angula, Trade and Industry Minister Hage Geingob, Minister of Presidential Affairs Albert Kawana, Minister of Safety and Security Nangolo Mbumba and Minister of Veterans Affairs Nickey Iyambo.People familiar with this week’s discussions say some of the Ministers described the ban as mindless and an unnecessary blot on the Government’s image. Others went as far as criticising the Swapo mouthpiece Namibia Today as more harmful to the ruling party than The Namibian. ‘The Swapo newspaper is divisive because it supports some factions against others within the party,’ said someone quoting what was said in Cabinet.Some Cabinet members allegedly said even the government-owned and annually subsidised New Era was at times more critical, thus making it unclear what the ban was really aimed at.The 2000 boycott of all advertising has been roundly condemned as ‘economic sanctions’ aimed at muzzling freedom of expression. The Namibian’s Editor, Gwen Lister, at the time said the ban was a reminder of the Apartheid days. Lister resisted challenging the ban in court as an unconstitutional decision, arguing such a move would have been perceived in certain quarters that this fiercely independent newspaper could not survive without Government support.In recent years however, The Namibian has taken issue with Government ban, particularly when it pertained to vital information in the public interest, including voter information campaigns during past elections and with the current national census.Similar ‘bans’ had been put in place by other SADC governments, including Botswana and Swaziland. In the case of Botswana, the newspaper successfully contested the ban in court that Government advertising should be used for the benefit of the public rather than the whims of politicians. In Swaziland, The Times closed down due to the loss of revenue.When the ban on The Namibian was instituted, it caused a six per cent loss in advertising revenue. Editor Gwen Lister said she will comment after more clarity on the matter has been received and when the Cabinet decision is officially announced.* If you want to comment on this report, please visit our Facebook site, The Namibian (group), and have your say.
