MPs must not shut out media

National Council chairperson, Margaret Mensah-Williams, has implored fellow parliamentarians to embrace journalists instead of completely shutting them out.

She said the media is responsible mediums for informing the nation.

“The traditional sense of the term media and news has truly advanced as it not only informs the masses of the happenings around the country, but a vast majority of the public's opinion rests in the hands of this important institution and here lies great responsibility,” Mensah-Williams said during a media day event hosted by the National Council.

The event was held to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the various media houses in the country working with government officials. She appealed to members of parliament to stop shutting out journalists but to make themselves available to the media.

Misa Namibia country director, Natasha Tibinyane also shared the same sentiments, saying one of ways the media can be effective is “if all media houses are plural, diverse, independent and not controlled by external factors”.

Tibinyane said that Namibia has been the only African country in the top 20 of the World Press Freedom Index for the past six years. The index is the annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders, based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year.

Currently at 24, Tibinyane blamed political intimidation for Namibia's global decline.

“We need to recognise that journalists are people too. They have families to take care of and a bill to pay so by intimidating someone, you will make them lose their job is unfair,” she said.

She informed MPs that journalists should be held accountable for their work and the public should make use and contact the Media Ombudsman whenever the journalists violate journalism ethics.



TUNOHOLE MUNGOBA