On Thursday 4 July 2008 the Prime Minister of Swaziland Themba Dlamini gave a speech to the Swaziland Editors’ Forum breakfast meeting. In it he outlined his views on the way the media operated in the kingdom.
For comments on his speech click here
The Swazi News (5 July 2008) reprinted the speech. It is reproduced below.
May I begin by expressing my profound gratitude to the Editors Forum for the partnership built over time between the media and my Cabinet colleagues, through the monthly meetings to deliberate on issues of national importance and interest in the last four and half years.
These breakfast meetings have helped different stakeholders understand government programmes, policies, challenges and bills that government is enacting.
In other words they have opened doors for the public to follow government business.
I am particularly pleased that we all saw value in establishing constant interaction between government and the media, because we all appreciated the role of the media and the expectations of the public from this interface.
There is no doubt that in the 21st century information has become the most powerful tool. Through information you can fight diseases, ignorance and promote development amongst other things. Since time in immemorial, the media has been the eyes and ears of the people, irrespective of their status in society. The role of the media is to inform, educate and entertain members of society It is the mouthpiece of the voiceless, down trodden and abused.
In certain quarters the media is called the watchdog for the people and not 'blood hound' because it follows issues from all sectors of our society Indeed that is why it is called the fourth estate, because it has a distinctive role to play.
The media reports on economic, political, social and personal issues. More than before, the media has an immense task of reporting on the operations of the judiciary legislature, executive and the civil society to mention but a few.
It has always been argued that through the media politicians are able to account to the electorate because it follows very closely those that are in high/political positions in society. It keeps them on their toes.
May I also thank the media for the relationship they have built with the government press secretary. The existence of the office has brought hand some dividends and strengthened our open door policy I am sure you will agree with me that you have access to government information and my Cabinet colleagues have also been co-operating with you.
I wish to thank the media and congratulate all journalists for their tireless efforts in disseminating information to the people. You have been true partners in educating and informing the nation about government programmes, policies and projects. You have been able to inform society about the many challenges His Majesty's government is facing.
You have played a magnificent role in educating people about the effects of HIV/AIDS, the challenges of poverty and the abuse of children and women. You have condemned the abuse of the voiceless and the under privileged. You have ben able to bring to the public domain men and women who abuse children.
The role played by the media in creating awareness on corruption is highly commendable. The media has been able to expose corruption both in the private and public sectors. Sometimes fingers have also been pointed to the newsrooms that corruption is also breeding there.
However, I think this has all been done in the spirit of accountability and transparency.
Due to the transparency of government, the media has been able to alert government on potential risks that the country might find itself facing. You have followed closely the progress of government projects and sometimes you have been useful whistle blowers. As a result a lot of corruption has been exposed through your dedicated work.
May I, however, say that transparency and freedom of expression and information have some limits in every society. This comes with responsibility, maturity and above all up holding national interest as a top priority I am particularly referring to national interest because the media can either build or destroy the image of the country. Readers form perceptions based on what is reported by the media. Therefore Editors, as gate keepers of our newsrooms, need to have love, sensitivity and patriotism to protect the country in which they belong.
This should be done without compromising professionalism and independence
It is against this background that I appeal to the media to be guided by their ethics when reporting. You need to report truthfully, without any bias and also abide by what is called equal opportunity in order to balance your stories. The media should be guided by the principles of fair, responsible and truthful reporting. The press must avoid the principle of “the survival of the fittest”.
The media should avoid a tabloid style of reporting. It must report facts and facts only in order to gain credibility. Despite all this I believe that the media should report out fear or favour. We should all be equal before the editors. As the media reports, it should abide by the laws of the land and the constitution is our guiding document We need to put people first and the over riding factor is national interest.
We discourage the abuse of freedom of expression. I once read an advert and also watched the same advert on television, it said, "we have freedom of expression but then after expression there is no freedom
In other countries people claim to have freedom of expression but in practice there is no freedom of expression. If you do, either you disappear or you are behind bars. Opinion columns in our media should be guided by media ethics, it should not promote hate. It should build up individuals, not to chastise or rebuke personalities recklessly. The media should focus on issues and not personalise issues.
Again the choice of words and language is key but without losing the meaning of what you want to say.
I am glad that in Swaziland people have constitutional rights to express themselves freely I am also happy that there is no one that has been reprimanded because of expressing himself or herself through the media or any other medium.
I wish to emphasise once again that freedom comes with responsibility.
May I also congratulate all our media houses for their commitment in promoting and reporting on the development of the constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland.
The media covered the civic education very well and this was highly appreciated toy His Majesty's government. You have played a very important role in disseminating the information about the voter registration process and as a result the turnout is indeed very impressive. As we go for nominations at our different chiefdoms, which win be followed by primary and secondary elections. I have no doubt that you shall cover the processes professionally. You shall be oar gate way to the international community.
As you are aware, His Majesty the King has dissolved Parliament and this is a sure sign that the life of the 8th Parliament of the kingdom of Swaziland is coming to an end. It is therefore proper that we make this our last breakfast meeting. I therefore wish to make a few observations.
First, I appeal to both the public and the private sectors to empower our women. Women are an integral part of our development and we should promote them to leadership positions and I am disheartened that there is an unequal representation of women in leadership and decision making positions in all sectors including the media.
Secondly, I have observed that communication builds bridges, sometimes across difficult terrain. You will recall that the initial breakfast meetings were very difficult and tense even though I had given you the rules of engagement.
I think you will remember rule number one, which says, “I am not under any obligation to answer all your questions and I reserve the right to refuse to answer any question” This has been the rule of thumb for our breakfast meetings and I am happy that we have kept it alive throughout our sessions; and our interaction has matured over time.
I am also aware that there are some instances where tempers flared and participants lost their cool and our customary respect for each other. However, we have let those instances pass and looked forward with determination and pride because our goal was to engage in discussions for the benefit of our stakeholders. I am one person who does not hold grudges. It is normal in life to disagree on issues. Indeed the world would be a dull place if everyone agreed on everything, every time.
I would like to appeal to the owners of the media in the country to build capacity in all sectors. We need to develop specialists in our journalists. We should have specialists in Social, Legal, Economic and Political issues amongst other areas.
I am also concerned about the investigative reporting capacity in our newsrooms. It is through investigative reporting that we get to know about issues of national concern.
What is critical is the truth, because the report should come up as a balanced story so that it is credible. I therefore challenge our media houses to develop this capacity
As we prepare for our double celebrations marking the country's 40th Independence Anniversary and His Majesty's 40th Birthday, I appeal to the media to promote these celebrations faithfully. We need investigative reporters to look back where we come from and where we are now in areas such as education, health, economic development and agriculture. The list is endless. This is a challenge I am giving to all our newsrooms.
Finally, I wish to thank the Editors Forum once again for the wonderful opportunity afforded me, and my Cabinet colleagues to work together for a better Swaziland.
I believe as we started this journey of a thousand miles in November, 2003 and our success is attributable to team work with Cabinet, Parliament, judiciary and co-operation with civil servants.
I also acknowledge the role played by other sectors like the private sector, labour, civil society, the church to mention but few.
Special thanks go to our sponsors Holcim Cement. All these breakfast meetings would not have been a success without your support. May I request the Holcim Cement representative who has always been with us to pass our sincere gratitude to her principals at headquarters. May the Lord multiply your profits and resources and I wish you the best in your future endeavours.
My special appreciation also goes to all those who have always made these breakfast meetings a great success, particularly my Cabinet colleagues. My gratitude also goes to the media houses who have always supported these sessions without fail. Last but not least the excellent staff in my office who have always supported all my endeavours. I wish to advise the journalists to guard against abuse by influential and powerful personalities. We expect journalists to have firm principles because their work makes them vulnerable to manipulation.
As I conclude, I wish to leave journalist with these wise words "when money talks, wisdom walks away and the truth becomes silent". I sincerely hope that you will continue to work well with His Majesty's government. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. We have run our race and I am pleased with our achievements.
May God bless you all, I thank you!
See also
SWAZI P.M. IS CLOSE TO MEDIA
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