Hileni Mwandingi

GOBABIS – Information minister Peya Mushelenga recently paid a courtesy visit to the Omaheke region to acquaint himself with the operations and services on the ground. 
During his first familiarisation visit to the region – the first since becoming information minister – Mushelenga said he also wanted to assess issues related to network coverage and see firsthand where improvement is needed. 
Omaheke governor Pijoo Nganate narrated how connectivity remains a challenge in remote areas in terms of cellular and radio network. 

He said in some parts of the region, communities are only able to listen to one station, while in others there is just no access to anything and people usually travel distances to make phone calls.
Nganate further called for mandatory working conditions between MICT and government media parastatals like NBC, New Era and Nampa when it comes to covering and airing stories, saying there should be a fair share of airtime and representation in news. 

To this, Mushelenga shared the same sentiments with the governor, saying the government media employees should coordinate and not compete, as they have the obligation to objectively keep the public informed. He further called for them to practice a balanced reporting by reporting not only the challenges but the successes as well, adding that they should be comprehensive and on time. 

Mushelenga also advised MICT journalists to draw up a programme to ensure they have covered stories from all the constituencies and not only focus on urban areas. 
The minister then officially handed over the equipment to the Otjombinde Multi-purpose Community Centre, which was donated by Telecom. 

The donated items consist of two laptops, audiovisual camera, tripod and a microphone – and it will be used by the volunteers at that centre to capture visuals when telling the stories from their constituency.