Windhoek
Members of parliament from both sides of the political divide last week agreed that New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC), publisher of New Era and Kundana newspapers, is heavily underfunded and needs urgent government intervention.
They expressed their sentiments during the 2016 Appropriation Bill debate in the National Assembly last week Thursday, during which Information and Communication Technology Minister Tjekero Tweya tabled the budgets of institutions falling under the ministry.
Some politicians also argued that the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) needed government’s financial help, just like NEPC.
New Era received N$13.6 million for the current financial year, which represents a mere 52 percent of N$23 million the corporation spends on printing. NEPC, which is not a commercial entity, makes nearly N$40 million in own revenues annually.
While some MPs called NEPC and NBC “bottomless pits”, others sympathised and offered suggestions on how the two can make money and become self-reliant.
Tweya explained that NEPC and NBC inherited debts from “yesteryears” and that the ministry and the management of the two parastatals are meeting regularly to find solutions.
NBC received N$252 million, N$90 million less than they received in the last financial year.
Rally for Democracy and Progress MP and secretary general Mike Kavekotora said something needed to be done to ensure that resources are allocated effectively to the two corporations.
“There is growing concern whether they (NBC and NEPC) can really sustain themselves moving forward, because their assets are lower than their liabilities and they can only go on with the support from government,” explained Kavekotora.
He said the last auditor general’s report indicated there were no documents at NBC to support credit notes amounting to N$7.8 million, while the TV licensing department is in a mess and lacks control especially over revenue collected.
On NEPC, Kavekotora recalled that the auditor general registered a disclaimer that he could not express an opinion as there were no documents to support some expenditure at the corporation.
“How can we continue to allocate money to institutions that cannot account for the money?” Kavekotora wanted to know
DTA MP and acting secretary general Elma Dienda raised concern about the N$23 million NEPC spends on printing annually – saying the amount is too high.
“If we had invested in a printer years back, right now they could be having their own printing company, instead of pumping money in private companies for printing,” said Dienda.
DTA leader McHenry Venaani believes the two media houses should become self-sustaining by generating more money from advertising.
“We are pumping money into NBC and we must have returns on our investment. The advertising arm of NBC needs to know how to make money.”
“The NBC is now airing very important news; however, the visual quality is not that good at times,” noted Venaani.
The opposition politician then accused the ruling party Swapo of getting free adverts from the public broadcaster and called them paid adverts, a claim that Tweya dismissed.
According to Venaani, the NBC Otjiherero radio service is being used by some for divisive agendas, while Swapo dominates the Oshiwambo radio’s content, especially Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.
Venaani further said that New Era has established itself as a critical paper in its reporting but he is noticing a small erosion of that style of reporting.
Venaani also turned his attention to The Southern Times newspaper under the NamZim joint partnership between NEPC and Zimpapers of Zimbabwe.
He called it a “sentimental newspaper”, which according to him has failed in its mandate to grow and lure business from the SADC and Africa markets.
“How long shall we carry a sentimental newspaper?”
Tweya responded by saying The Southern Times was created to push for a SADC agenda and that it should rather be supported so that it can grow. He also said the paper offers Namibia and SADC digital opportunities.
Reinhold Nauyoma of the All People’s Party warned that public media platforms should not be used as propaganda tools and should cover all leaders, irrespective of their political affiliation.
Swapo MP and deputy minister in the presidency Alexia Manombe-Ncube also said the nation is waiting for the production of the brail version of the New Era newspaper and urged that parliamentary debates on NBC be translated by sign language interpreter for the hearing impaired.