Africa-Press – Lesotho. With Coronavirus (COVID-19) plague probably on the horizon for Lesotho, the government of Lesotho is working round the clock to prepare for the worst and, one of the
targeted key areas to get control of is the media. Lesotho is one of the few countries around the globe that have zero confirmed cases of this world pandemic.
This is despite the neighboring country having confirmed over 700 cases, with the numbers rising alarmingly. One possibility could be that there are cases in Lesotho, however undetected on the grounds of the local Ministry
of Health (MoH) currently having no testing kits, just like over 10 other African countries inclusive of Botswana and Swaziland. In the midst of this worldwide confusion, it is obvious that information will come
from multiple sources including those that are uncertified. These sources include individuals that record social media voice notes and post subjective
information. This sparks rumors that inject fear and confusion in people who consume such information. This is one issue disturbing the Minister of Communications, Science and Technology
Chief Thesele Maseribane. Speaking at a press conference that was held on Tuesday, Maseribane stated that there has already been such cases in Lesotho, where
different sources falsely claim that Lesotho has confirmed COVID-19 cases. These include the recent fake press release by MoH which indicated there was a
suspected case of this pandemic in one of the health facilities in the country, a claim which MoH firmly downplayed later on. The minister believes that even credible media outlets have a tendency of imparting
false information. Therefore he said during this period of emergency, the ministry will deploy quite an impenitent attitude towards media houses with such behavior.
Without any form of warning, media houses that impart false information shall be shutdown. Media houses already know media rules and regulations hence the ministry to act with
immediate effect. He went on to emphasize the importance of media during this time; it is only through them that the nation can receive credible information, inclusive of
precautionary measures. Like doctors and all other health care professionals that will be on the ground during this crisis, journalists will be equally at
risk hence they need protective equipment. To ensure their safety while imparting credible information, they will be held to a training on this pandemic today, where they shall also be handed hand
sanitizers, gloves and protective clothes. Public Eye Senior Reporter Bongiwe Zihlangu commended the government’s decision to appreciate the media as a powerful information
instrument during this time and as usual. She however suggested that media houses that are under resourced will really need to be met halfway with resources such as transport to be able to freely move to areas where there
shall be a need to gather information. The minister adhered to this proposal citing that the ministry shall deploy a team that will take care of logistics for
media personnel. Maseribane went further to indicate that newspapers and other print media that contain COVID-19 messages shall be freely distributed by the government on behalf of
the media houses to their usual delivery points across the country. This move by the government to put the media on the forefront of the battle against
this pandemic, was welcomed with positivity by one of the media proprietors in the country – BAM Group of Companies (Informative Newspaper, Achiever Magazine
and Finite Magazine) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ntšepeng Tšita Tikiso. “I feel the government has acted very responsibly to consider that information is
essential hence even provide those safety measures. It is also worth noting that it is our responsibility as media to give necessary information that is true and factual for the sake of the citizens to react accordingly to be safe,” she said.
