Namibian media still freest in Africa
Namibia has retained its top ranking in the latest World Press Freedom Index as the country with the freest media in Africa.
But Namibia dropped seven places to 24th out of 180 countries in the world ranking.
The rankings were released this week by Reporters Without Borders.
Ghana (26), Cape Verde (27), South Africa (31) and Burkina Faso (42) are the other top-ranked African countries. Botswana, Mauritania, Mauritius, Madagascar and Senegal also made it to Africa's top ten.
The world rankings are dominated by Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Namibia has over the years maintained the highest ranking on the continent and its government in particular has been credited for upholding press freedom.
The chairperson of the Namibia Editors' Forum (NEF), Joseph Ailonga, commended the country on maintaining the highest ranking on the continent, but was quick to point that a lot still needed to be done to guard against dropping in the overall world ranking. “The latest rankings show the value and the media environment that we currently have in our country,” he said. “The indication of us dropping in terms of world ranking probably has to do with other African countries going down. An example is what is happening in Cameroon.” Ailonga added that the tone used by the political authorities over the last 12 months or so might have led to the country falling seven places in the world ranking.
He particularly singled out the imminent Broadcasting Code that will be enacted under Namibia's new Communication Act as a drawback.
He also blasted last year's cabinet directive which sought preferential treatment for two state media houses when it comes to government information and advertising.
“Press freedom must continue. Obviously the government must be proactive in this regard. If they want to be the freest in Africa they should adhere to transparency and tune down the tone on intimidation. Government must play its role to ensure that Namibia remains the freest in Africa,” he said.
STAFF REPORTER
But Namibia dropped seven places to 24th out of 180 countries in the world ranking.
The rankings were released this week by Reporters Without Borders.
Ghana (26), Cape Verde (27), South Africa (31) and Burkina Faso (42) are the other top-ranked African countries. Botswana, Mauritania, Mauritius, Madagascar and Senegal also made it to Africa's top ten.
The world rankings are dominated by Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Namibia has over the years maintained the highest ranking on the continent and its government in particular has been credited for upholding press freedom.
The chairperson of the Namibia Editors' Forum (NEF), Joseph Ailonga, commended the country on maintaining the highest ranking on the continent, but was quick to point that a lot still needed to be done to guard against dropping in the overall world ranking. “The latest rankings show the value and the media environment that we currently have in our country,” he said. “The indication of us dropping in terms of world ranking probably has to do with other African countries going down. An example is what is happening in Cameroon.” Ailonga added that the tone used by the political authorities over the last 12 months or so might have led to the country falling seven places in the world ranking.
He particularly singled out the imminent Broadcasting Code that will be enacted under Namibia's new Communication Act as a drawback.
He also blasted last year's cabinet directive which sought preferential treatment for two state media houses when it comes to government information and advertising.
“Press freedom must continue. Obviously the government must be proactive in this regard. If they want to be the freest in Africa they should adhere to transparency and tune down the tone on intimidation. Government must play its role to ensure that Namibia remains the freest in Africa,” he said.
STAFF REPORTER
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