By Zweli Martin Dlamini
Africa-Press – Eswatini. The media,it is often said,is a political field where the game of power is played through narratives,Prime Minister Russell Dlamini must just admit that he has been defeated in his desire to regulate the media.
We fully understand that most politicians have a desire to control and capture the media because that is the central field where the game of power is played.
In this regard, we understand Prime Minister Russell Dlamini’s political appetite to control the media, but we are not and, will never be ready to surrender ourselves and be controlled by a stupid political novice like him.
After being defeated by Information Minister Savannah Maziya, who refused to approve government media regulatory machanism, PM Russell Dlamini changed tune, saying the government wanted the media to self-regulate.
We have videos of the Prime Minister addressing the Editors Forum meeting; he was even challenged by Nation Magazine editor Bheki Makhubu, who, when referring to Mbabane East Member of Parliament (MP) Welcome Dlamini, questioned why the PM chose “umfana waseSkomu” to regulate the media.
Now that the issue has been taken up even by the United States(US) Embassy, the Prime Minister is claiming he never intended to regulate the media.
We warned Russell that he won’t succeed in his mission, the media is backed by the international community and is an important institution that hold those in power accountable,you cannot just impose your dictatorship will on it.
Well,for now, I have full confidence in the team tasked with self-regulation, and we urge the Prime Minister to stay away from the process.
Once we feel that the process to self-regulate has been hijacked by Government, we will expose it.
The media must remain independent, and those journalists or media houses who decide on their own to be captured must do so without polluting the media as an institution.
We cannot allow the government to document and legalize media capture and we thank Nation Magazine editor Bheki Makhubu for standing up for media freedom.
It should be noted that, the self-regulatory mechanism is not about us; we are getting old now.
But the proposed legal framework that seeks to regulate the media will create a foundation for a democratic society for future generations.
Some of us have made significant sacrifices, dedicating ourselves to writing articles even while in the wilderness and persistently influencing public discourse.
Undertaking this effort is challenging, and we seek to prevent future journalists from enduring this form of suppression.
Bheki Makhubu was arrested for writing an article criticizing the judiciary system.
We don’t want future journalists to go through the same thing, and the media self-regulatory team must understand that this is not about us but for the future of this country.
In conclusion, perhaps one must urge Prime Minister Russell Dlamini to speed up the payment of about R180 million he allegedly looted from the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). He must stay away from the media and work towards paying back the money he looted.
Source: SWAZILANDNEWS
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