Africa-Press – Eswatini. It is not by mistake that, in the national Constitution, there is a set of rules that the people of Eswatini felt important to include to add to how best we can coexist in our society.
One of these rules is to allow people to have a right to an opinion that can be expressed without hindrance, as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. This is why various sectors of our society were up in arms in reaction to comments made by Mbabane East Member of Parliament (MP) Welcome Dlamini, who has called for State regulation of the media. He argues that we qualify for it because he believes we have failed to self regulate for over two decades, which is not accurate. When government refuses to include State media under self-regulation, it’s not failure by the media. Trying to find common ground has been a challenge, yes, but talks are ongoing, not abandoned.
The outcry over his statement was really not about him as an individual. This was a mass reaction in protection of the Constitution – the document that seeks to guide how we get along with one another. They are saying we don’t want government to regulate the free flow of information because information serves as a contributor to our decision-making process. People access this information mainly through the media, which is the messenger. So why shoot the messenger is the question they are all asking.
The truth is, everybody is entitled to express their opinion and this includes our former colleague. He is enjoying the privilege of Section 24 (2), which reads; “A person shall not except with the free consent of that person be hindered in the enjoyment of the freedom of expression, which includes the freedom of the press and other media, that is to say – (a) freedom to hold opinions without interference; (b) freedom to receive ideas and information without interference; (c) freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference (whether the communication be to the public generally or to any person or class of persons); and (d) freedom from interference with the correspondence of that person.”
Reactions
However, to use this freedom to curtail that of others is what emaSwati do not want, hence the strong reactions. In the media, we must understand that information is not only about what people want to hear but also about what they need to hear. Besides, such a move would fly in the face of the country’s efforts to project itself as a destination of choice for investment in order to address the numerous challenges of unemployment, poverty, corruption and many other social issues. These challenges can never be overcome without a self-regulated media, which would ensure transparency and accountability, especially among those who hold public office and have been entrusted to safeguard the use of taxpayers’ money in providing the much needed delivery of services to the public. To curtail the media is to promote corruption and asphyxiate progress.
For instance, it is not too long ago that a directive to State media institutions to prohibit MPs from using these facilities to communicate with their constituents and the general public. The frustrated MPs would then run to the non-State media to get their messages across. MPs expressed their frustration to the former ICT Minister, Princess Sikhanyiso around this time last year, calling upon her to lift this ban, which she promised to do while lamenting the banning of MPs on local mainstream media, stating that it was not helping the country in any way.
“This is not a new issue but we wish to reverse it, especially now in the digital era where the mainstream media is not in charge of the narrative and we know that who controls the narrative controls the people. We are simply depriving ourselves,” she said. The statement by the minister shows clearly that she understood the dangers of suppressing the media and how this could give greater power and influence to others in the social media space to drive a very harmful public agenda. I have no doubt she was making reference to the influence exerted by social media that led to the June 2021 riots that culminated in violence, looting and the loss of lives.
We all recall how misinformation contributed to this occurrence. Many of the new MPs may have applauded the submission by the MP at their ongoing induction exercise, but they could do themselves a favour by drawing lessons from the first-hand experience of his predecessors, some of whom are back in Parliament. They have a story to tell on the frustration that comes with a muzzled media and how the free press came to their rescue. The MPs went as far as threatening to withhold the budget for the ICT Ministry if the airwaves were not opened to them.
The MPs should keep it in mind that Eswatini has much ground to cover in terms of development. Our aspirations are to become a First World country. This is the end goal, but we must first familiarise ourselves with the characteristics of the goal we seek to achieve. Many First World countries enjoy some of the best media freedoms. According to the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index 2023, First World country Norway is ranked number one. Ireland holds the second position, followed by Denmark in third, Sweden in fourth, Finland in fifth and the Netherlands in sixth. Eswatini currently ranks 111th out of 180 countries. It is evident that we still have a significant distance to cover in rebranding this country, and the last thing we need are advocates of a statutory media regulation. The best marketing tool we have is our Constitution and its tenets. Let’s protect it by all means so that we can all get along a little bit better.
Source: times
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