Windhoek
Chairperson of the National Council Margaret Mensah-Williams has called on journalists to differentiate between the National Council and the National Assembly in their reporting. Mensah-Williams made the call while addressing journalists during a presentation on the relationship between parliament and the media in Windhoek yesterday.
“The main problem I have right now with the media when it comes to reporting on the work of parliament is that when they think of parliament, they perceive the National Assembly as parliament,” said Mensah-Williams, who is also the councillor for Khomasdal North Constituency. She said the media should at least make an effort to ensure that the information they disseminate is factual.
“Please do not refer to Professor Peter Katjavivi as the Speaker of parliament. He is the Speaker of the National Assembly,” she stressed.
Mensah-Williams said most media institutions would report that parliament did not declare their assets, or that parliament did not form a quorum when they are actually refering to the National Assembly and not parliament, as such.
“When you say ‘parliament’ then you are referring to both houses of parliament, the National Council and National Assembly,” she stressed, adding that the Constitution of Namibia is clear that parliament consists of two houses. She added that such misplaced information in the press is part of the reason why the National Council is still struggling to be recognised as a house of parliament.
“We really need help from the media houses to please always differentiate between parliament, the National Assembly and the National Council,” she said.
Mensah-Williams further called on National Council members to build a strong professional relationships with the media. “To do this we have to involve the media in policy deliberations and other activities of national interest that the National Council will undertake,” she said. She said if the relationship can be fortified it would result in fair and accurate reporting, which will in turn assist MPs to legislate and scrutinise government performance and be accountable to the electorate.
“We, as MPs, also need to have an open door policy towards the media and refrain from the outdated response of ‘no comment’,” she added. “When you tell the media ‘no comment’, what the media hears is that you know what they are talking about and you are just not telling them,” she said.