By Catherine Sasman
WINDHOEK
The recent experience of “rage” at the current “unlimited freedoms” with regard to speech and expression “demonstrated that the socio-political climate is not right to blindly start with [media] reforms”, said Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, yesterday.
The Minister was addressing media practitioners and other stakeholders at a consultative meeting on the review of media and communication legislation, which forms the second phase to revise the existing Information Policy.
The outcome of the discussions and adoption by the Namibian Government might impact on freedom of speech and expression, and there is currently a national debate on the constitutional provisions of freedom of speech and expression.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the reform process of the media and communication legislative landscape should be informed by the feelings of the majority of the population and the national security situation in the country.
Freedom of speech and expression, said the Minister, should not compromise the sovereignty and security of the country, the privacy of others or result in the defamation of individuals or instigate people to commit criminal offences.
“Absolute freedom of speech and expression can compromise Namibia’s existing peace, stability and security that is necessary for development and progress. Therefore, the misuse and abuse of individual constitutional human rights to the detriment of others is not acceptable, not only by Government, but even by Namibian culture that is based on respect and integrity,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.
The ministry in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation embarked on a study launched in 2004 on existing and draft legislation where panel discussions were held and recommendations made to ensure that Namibia’s laws are in conformity with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union (AU) standards.
Namibia is signatory to the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport, the African Commission’s Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa, and the SADC Declaration on Information and Communication Technology.
These oblige Namibia to incorporate the provisions of the regional instruments into laws.
In a March 2005 audit of media and communication in Namibia conducted by Clement Daniels and David Lush, it was pointed out that despite early strides made in communication legislation shortly after independence, the country has since fallen behind neighbouring countries when it comes to its own policies and laws to keep up with the latest African legal standards.
“Two-way communication that ensures the free flow of information between the public and decision makers is essential for socio-economic development, and is promoted through constitutional guarantees of the rights to freedom of expression and access to information. Media that are independent of economic and political control and interference play a crucial role in facilitating this dialogue,” proposed Daniels and Lush in their audit.
In principle, the researchers said, all information should be available to the public unless there are reasonable grounds for withholding it.
The researchers further suggested that diversity of content should be encouraged, and that legislative provisions be put in place to prevent a concentration of media ownership.
In similar vein, said the researchers, media regulators should be independent, and the election of board members to these bodies should be open and transparent and involve civil society.