Maravi

A welcome move

A welcome move
Written by Editor

It is good that the government has yielded to both local and international pressure not to regulate the media. We say the government has yielded because we do not think it is correct for information minister Lt Gen Ronnie Shikapwasha to claim that government has had no intention of regulating the media. Only a few weeks ago, this same Lt Gen Shikapwasha was publicly justifying why the media had to be regulated by law.

Even his predecessor Mike Mulongoti spoke passionately about statutory regulation of the media as opposed to self-regulation. Of course, some members of parliament – those enemies of press freedom – have from time to time selfishly propagated statutory regulation of the media.

And it is also not correct for Lt Gen Shikapwasha to claim that some members of parliament felt the need to regulate the media following what he termed as unprofessional behaviour by some media houses during campaigns leading to the October 30 elections. This is not true because long before these campaigns, politicians had been scheming on how to legislate against the media. During the campaigns, Mulongoti even threatened to close The Post after the elections. Some of the ruling MMD’s agents and allies like Neo Simutanyi were not ashamed to incite the incoming president to deal with The Post.

This explains why the Freedom of Information Bill has not seen the light of day because these politicians are sitting on it. And when they talk about regulating the media, they only have one medium in mind; The Post, the newspaper they consider to be a pain in their side.

It is not difficult to discern this. During the last sitting of Parliament, most members of parliament that debated clearly felt the need to regulate media because of how The Post covered the October 30 elections. They said this either directly or indirectly.

They want to come up with the law because they don’t like what The Post stands for. And even when they talk about The Post, it’s clear that they are only talking about an individual. What they forget is that the laws they want to formulate against the media, to gag the media, will not be confined to The Post alone or the individual they detest at The Post. This law will affect the entire media landscape in the country. This will be a sad development for our young democracy because such laws promote and protect dictatorship.

Like we have said before, those who have nothing to hide, those who have no skeletons to guard in their wardrobes will not be afraid of a free and vibrant media. They will not be afraid of the media that regulate themselves. Those who believe that true democracy, not the guided one, hinges on freedom of expression will always support and defend media freedom because divergent views will not be experienced in a democracy that controls the media. It is only a free media that will promote democracy through its diversity.

In saying all this, we are not in any way trying to belittle the good step the government has taken by announcing that it will not regulate the media. We commend the government for this step and encourage them to continue on this path where good reason is given an opportunity to excel, to succeed, to triumph over petty selfish personal considerations by those who wield or aspire to wield power.

What we are trying to say, in short, is what Lenin once said that yielding is legitimate and essential when the yielder is convinced that those who are striving to make him yield are in the right. In this case, honest politicians frankly and openly admit their mistaken view on things and correct them.

We think that Lt Gen Shikapwasha’s statement is an indirect admission of the government’s initial mistaken view on this matter. And we commend him for this bold step he has taken because from our past experience, it’s been very hard to get politicians to admit and correct their mistakes. This is how it should be.

It cannot be denied that in all progressive nations, regulation of the media in the manner being advocated by our politicians cannot be tolerated. And if the government goes ahead to regulate the media in such a manner, then they should prepare themselves for international pressure, loss of respect and ridicule. They will meet hostility wherever they go in the world, on this issue. And any credentials they may claim on this issue of democracy will be eroded or wiped out.

As we have stated before, the only other time when yielding is legitimate and essential is when an irrational and harmful demand is yielded to in order to avert a greater evil. But is this the situation? The answer is a categorical no.

Therefore, there is no basis whatsoever to proceed with legislation that will not only take us backwards on good governance, but also bring us international shame. And it is good that the government has realised this. This issue of media freedom is not a small one for those countries that want to practice democracy in the real sense. Democracy cannot thrive in the absence of a free media and good governance. Under such a setup, it will remain a political pipedream.

A free press is an essential for checks and balances in a democracy. It cannot be denied that a free and vibrant media anywhere in the world helps to promote transparency, accountability and good governance. That is why those politicians who have a lot of things to sweep under the carpet are not comfortable to have a free media. They want to gag the media through statutory regulation so that the media operates according to their design.

Again, in saying this, we are not in any way promoting anarchy, impunity or irresponsibility in the practice of journalism. That is why we support calls for self-regulation as opposed to statutory regulation.

It is a fact that in any discipline or profession, there are some people who pursue it with honour and integrity while others don’t. But this does not give impetus to the government to use undemocratic means to come up with laws designed to defeat the essence of democracy.

There will always be bad eggs everywhere. What is important is to look at the most convenient and prudent ways of dealing with such eggs wherever they exist.

That is why we welcome Lt Gen Shikapwasha’s announcement which paves way for self-regulation in the media and not statutory regulation.

Labels: MIKE MULONGOTI, SHIKAPWASHA

posted by MrK @ 9:52 AM