Words of praise, words of caution for media

IN a year characterised by political change, unprecedented corruption levels, violence and natural disaster, the Namibian media have done well in keeping the nation abreast of local and world developments, Information and Broadcasting Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said yesterday.

In her last formal address to the media for the year, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the events of the year could lead to the question whether they were a sign of moral decay in society. Nandi-Ndaitwah singled out the handing over of power from former President Sam Nujoma to President Hifikepunye Pohamba as the news highlight on the home front during 2005, saying the nation needed to be applauded for the smooth transition and “mature acceptance of the change of leadership”.She said Pohamba’s resolve to root out corruption had led to a shocking number of corrupt practices being exposed.”For weeks and months, the local media reported on incident after incident where Namibians, often in positions of power, have pocketed money that did not belong to them, but in most cases belong to the public,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.She said corrupt officials had demonstrated their disregard for the elderly who live on the breadline and that their greed had no limits.Worldwide, Nandi-Ndaitwah said, the media, using the latest information and communication technologies, had brought news of tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and terrorist attacks to the doorsteps of the ordinary person.”You are working with a very powerful commodity.If well managed, the media can be instrumental in bringing about change and development.On the other hand, the media is in the powerful position to destroy the peace and tranquillity that all of us have been enjoying since Independence,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.Noting that the freedom of speech and expression is entrenched in the Namibian Constitution, Nandi-Ndaitwah said accordingly the media are expected to adhere to globally accepted ethical norms and standards.”Professionalism, accountability and objectivity must be the guiding principles in your reporting.Similarly, media practitioners have to be guided by the African tradition of respect and high regard for others,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.The Minister said the Namibian media had to bear in mind that the country is a relatively young democracy, coming from a past of deep and painful divisions.For this reason, she said, the media needed to be sensitive to the feelings of individuals and groups and “guard against evoking emotions that can give rise to tension, including racial tension”.Nandi-Ndaitwah said she planned to meet with the editors and managers of all media houses in the new year to share ideas on how to enhance the relationship between Government and the media.She maintained that “historic divisions” still existed among the media.”At the end of 2005, I would like to see competitive media, but media united in their acceptance of their own code of ethics and with a media mediator to which the public can turn for dispute resolution and complaints of any nature,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.She said although the media had played their role as watchdog of society and had kept the flame of democracy burning, there was room for improvement.She warned the boards of State-owned media that they would have their work cut out for them in making the institutions commercially viable.Introducing the new boards of news agency Nampa and Government newspaper New Era, Nandi-Ndaitwah said these institutions could not continue relying so heavily on State funding for their operations.”The boards have to be proactive to initiate programmes that will enable those bodies to substantially supplement the financial contributions they get from the state,” she said.Over the years, the commercialisation of State-owned entities had placed even more pressure on State finances and the Minister warned that if their performance did not improve, she would have to consider making them divisions or directorates within Ministries.Nandi-Ndaitwah singled out the handing over of power from former President Sam Nujoma to President Hifikepunye Pohamba as the news highlight on the home front during 2005, saying the nation needed to be applauded for the smooth transition and “mature acceptance of the change of leadership”.She said Pohamba’s resolve to root out corruption had led to a shocking number of corrupt practices being exposed.”For weeks and months, the local media reported on incident after incident where Namibians, often in positions of power, have pocketed money that did not belong to them, but in most cases belong to the public,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.She said corrupt officials had demonstrated their disregard for the elderly who live on the breadline and that their greed had no limits.Worldwide, Nandi-Ndaitwah said, the media, using the latest information and communication technologies, had brought news of tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and terrorist attacks to the doorsteps of the ordinary person.”You are working with a very powerful commodity.If well managed, the media can be instrumental in bringing about change and development.On the other hand, the media is in the powerful position to destroy the peace and tranquillity that all of us have been enjoying since Independence,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.Noting that the freedom of speech and expression is entrenched in the Namibian Constitution, Nandi-Ndaitwah said accordingly the media are expected to adhere to globally accepted ethical norms and standards.”Professionalism, accountability and objectivity must be the guiding principles in your reporting.Similarly, media practitioners have to be guided by the African tradition of respect and high regard for others,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.The Minister said the Namibian media had to bear in mind that the country is a relatively young democracy, coming from a past of deep and painful divisions.For this reason, she said, the media needed to be sensitive to the feelings of individuals and groups and “guard against evoking emotions that can give rise to tension, including racial tension”.Nandi-Ndaitwah said she planned to meet with the editors and managers of all media houses in the new year to share ideas on how to enhance the relationship between Government and the media.She maintained that “historic divisions” still existed among the media.”At the end of 2005, I would like to see competitive media, but media united in their acceptance of their own code of ethics and with a media mediator to which the public can turn for dispute resolution and complaints of any nature,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.She said although the media had played their role as watchdog of society and had kept the flame of democracy burning, there was room for improvement.She warned the boards of State-owned media that they would have their work cut out for them in making the institutions commercially viable.Introducing the new boards of news agency Nampa and Government newspaper New Era, Nandi-Ndaitwah said these institutions could not continue relying so heavily on State funding for their operations.”The boards have to be proactive to initiate programmes that will enable those bodies to substantially supplement the financial contributions they get from the state,” she said.Over the years, the commercialisation of State-owned entities had placed even more pressure on State finances and the Minister warned that if their performance did not improve, she would have to consider making them divisions or directorates within Ministries.