This week, New Era spoke with Peya Mushelenga, the minister of information and communication, about the state of the media in the country ahead of Tuesday’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations.
New Era: How would you describe the state of Namibia’s media at this moment?
Peya Mushelenga: Free, independent and pluralistic. As the government, we are satisfied our various media houses continue to flourish and practise their profession within a free media environment as enshrined in Chapter 3, Article 21 of the Namibian constitution.
NE: What would you say are your ministry’s most important achievements in the last year?
PM: Since last year, MICT has been committed to finalising two critical Bills, namely the Cybercrime Bill and the Data Protection Bill. Therefore, MICT is dedicated to extensively consulting the industry players and the general public for their inputs before tabling the two Bills in Parliament.
In the same vein, we are gearing up to finalise the consolidation of the National ICT Policy as well as the amendments to the Communications Act to accommodate the emerging trends in the sector. Most importantly, the Electronic Information Systems Management Advisory Council will be appointed to oversee the implementation of the Electronic Transactions Act. The National Digital Strategy will be finalised during this financial year.
The national cybersecurity strategy and awareness creation plan, which was recently approved by Cabinet, will be implemented. The strategy will serve as a platform for sectors to collaborate in designing appropriate cybersecurity measures to respond effectively to cyber-attacks, and to protect information systems and networks. The awareness creation plan will enhance the internet users’ understanding of the issues related to cyber-attacks and security. Namibia, through MICT, and in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), successfully hosted the World Press Freedom Day 2021 global conference in May last year under the theme ‘Information as a Public Good’, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration. The conference resulted in the adoption of the Windhoek +30 Declaration, which was later endorsed by the 41st UNESCO General Conference in November 2021 in Paris, France. To this end, the ministry will finalise the community media policy framework for implementation during this financial year. This policy framework will enhance the development of community media in the country, especially community radios, which, by extension, will empower communities at the grassroots level and strengthen democracy in the country. We continue to uphold media freedom, serving as a leading example on the African continent.
While we prepare for the enactment of the Access to Information Bill and its implementation thereof, the MICT will conduct an information access impact survey during this financial year to determine the percentage of the population that has access to information and establish the impact it makes on the citizenry, as well as to identify gaps that hinder access to information.
Furthermore, the ministry plans to finalise the government communication guidelines during this financial year (2022-2023) that will provide a blueprint for government communication to ensure consistency and standardisation in communication across all offices, ministries, and agencies (OMAs) and regional and local authorities. This will enable all OMAs to develop their communication strategies that are responsive to the public information needs in all sectors of government. This includes capacitating public relations officers in all OMAs, regional councils and local authorities with skills that will enable them to rapidly respond to public information needs.
In addition, the ministry through the Nationhood and National Pride (NNP) Programme, continues to promote responsible behavioural change within the Namibia society including shunning tribalism, vandalism, gender-based violence and other social ills among the citizenry.
Under this programme, the ministry will, among others, continue to work together with the Ministry of Health and Social Services and other development partners to encourage the public to go for Covid-19 vaccination while observing the health protocols. The ministry will further continue to work with the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare to discourage gender-based violence that remains rampant in our society.
Furthermore, the ministry plans to expand the operations of the Government Information Centre services by developing an online application to serve as a one-stop national information gateway. This application will enable the public to access any government information from all government OMAs concisely and simply. In addition, this application will serve as a national accountability tool for government to the citizens and as a stimulator for research and development.
The ministry, through its regional offices, will continue to provide access to government information to rural citizens through news and documentaries on regional development and promote ICT literacy initiatives. Furthermore, the regional offices will continue to act as a communication driving force for information dissemination of national government campaigns.
In a nutshell, MICT, through the Namibia Film Commission (NFC), ensured Namibia is among the top five countries in Africa, chosen as a location for blockbuster movies. Last year, alone, we serviced 89 foreign film productions with a total value of N$74 million, despite the pandemic.
NE: Namibia has enjoyed RSF’s top ranking as the country with the freest media in Africa for the last year. Who should be credited for this accolade?
PM: This should be credited to role players – the media, government, civil society organisations and the public at large – thanks to all those who have been involved in this media space.
NE: Last year, you resubmitted the Access to Information Bill to Parliament after several of your predecessors promised but could not succeed. Why is enacting this bill important?
PM: The enactment of the Access to Information Bill leads to the promotion of transparency, accountability and effective governance of all public and private bodies. Once enacted into law, Namibians will be empowered in exercising their right to access information that will enable them to make informed decisions and change their livelihoods. This will enable citizens to fully understand the functions and operations of public institutions, and effectively scrutinise and participate in decision-making processes.
With ATI enacted into law, any citizen of Namibia may request information from a public or private body, which is required to reply immediately or within a prescribed time limit. The ATI law will also require every public or private body to store or computerise their records for easy access or wide dissemination.
NE: When can Namibians expect this bill to become a law?
PM: After the bill has passed through all stages of reading in the National Assembly and the National Council – and subsequently signed into law by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Namibia.
NE: Public-funded media has struggled financially in the last few years. What is the government’s plan for the sustainability of these institutions?
PM: With the economic decline due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government is caught in a catch 22 situation on how to strike a balance and ensure public media sustainability versus government funding.
However, as a ministry, responsible for information management and dissemination, we will continue encouraging our public media to diversify their revenue base and ensure they live up to their social responsibilities.
It might not be easy, but we all ought to double our efforts to survive the prevailing economic situation and downturn.
NE: Cabinet has resolved to merge the Namibia Press Agency and New Era as well as dissolve Southern Times. What is the timeline for these projects, and how will it work?
PM: The three entities are being governed by the board of directors in terms of corporate governance principles – and as such, good corporate governance practice supposes that these are the structures that should speak on the matter.
NE: What is the lesson from the failed Southern Times experiment?
PM: Southern Times was established through consultation with Cabinet, and this is the body that should first be appraised with relevant information. If Cabinet deems it appropriate, the normal course of disseminating information on Cabinet proceedings will be followed.