The Swaziland Government will not let up on
its control of state radio, Minister of Information, Communication and
Technology (ICT) Dumisani Ndlangamandla said.
He said state media, which includes television and
radio, existed primarily to serve the interests of the state.
This would mean that the strict censorship
that existed in Swaziland would continue.
Ndlangamandla was speaking in the Swazi parliament in response to
questions from MPs about the future control of media in the kingdom which is
ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political
parties are not allowed to stand in elections and most are banned outright. The
King appoints the Prime Minister, who also serves as editor-in-chief of state
media.
Some MPs wanted to remove Swaziland Broadcasting and Information
Services (SBIS) and Swazi TV from government control.
The Times of Swaziland, the
only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported Manzini
North MP Jan Sithole saying radio and TV, ‘only cover news which the State
wants covered and they are not open to the public as they should, yet they are
run with taxpayers’ money’.
The newspaper reported, ‘The MP also raised concern about the silent
censorship of politicians by the State media, since no MP is ever interviewed or
shown on TV.’
The Times reported, ‘Matsanjeni
MP Phila Buthelezi said SBIS Radio, for instance, was not primarily for its
listeners.
‘He clarified that it was disappointing that news which one would expect
a national radio station to run is not broadcast by the station. Buthelezi
wondered how the editing of news went on in the station.’
The Times added, ‘Meanwhile, the minister was unambiguous in saying
that State mediums cannot be delinked from the State because it would be
detrimental to the country.’
Censorship of radio and television in Swaziland is not new. In August
2012 the government announced that in advance of the national election in
September 2013 radio would
be banned from broadcasting news and information that did not support the
government’s own agenda.
All radio in
the kingdom, except one Christian station that does not broadcast news, is
state-controlled.
New guidelines also barred ‘public service announcements’ unless
they were ‘in line with government policy’ or had been authorised ‘by the
chiefs through the regional administrators’ or deputy prime minister’s office’.
The
guidelines said the radio stations could not be ‘used for purposes of
campaigning by individuals or groups, or to advance an agenda for political,
financial popularity gains for individuals or groups’.
Media in
Swaziland are severely censored. There are only two TV stations in the kingdom,
the state-controlled Swazi TV and the independent Channel S, which has a
publicly-stated policy of supporting King Mswati.
There is a
long history of censorship on state broadcasting in Swaziland. Strikes and
anti-government demonstrations are usually ignored by broadcasters. Sometimes
live radio programmes are censored on air. In July 2011, the plug was pulled on
a phone-in programme when listeners started criticising the government for its
handling of the economy. Percy Simelane, who was then the boss of SBIS, and
went on to become the government’s official spokesperson, personally
stormed the radio studio and cut the programme.
In April
2011, Welile Dlamini, a long-time news editor at SBIS, challenged the Prime
Minister Barnabas Dlamini at an editors’ forum meeting on why the state radio
station was told by the government what and what not to broadcast. Welile
Dlamini said that at the station they were instructed to spike certain stories
such as those about demonstrations by progressives and strike action by
workers. The PM responded by saying editors should resign if they were not
happy with the editorial policies they are expected to work with.
In March
2011, SBIS stopped
broadcasting the BBC World Service Focus on Africa programme after it carried
reports critical of King Mswati III. In the
same month, SBIS failed to
cover the march by nurses that forced the Swazi Government into paying them
overdue allowances.
In 2010,
Swazi police told SBIS it must stop allowing people to broadcast information
about future meetings unless the
police had given permission. Jerome Dlamini, Deputy Director of the SBIS said this was to stop the radio station airing an
announcement for a meeting that was prohibited.
He said,
‘It’s the station’s policy not to make announcements without police
permission.’
In 2006, the
minister for public service and information, Themba Msibi, warned the Swazi
broadcasters against criticising the king.
MISA reported at the time, ‘The
minister’s threats followed a live radio programme of news and current affairs
in which a human rights lawyer criticised the king’s sweeping constitutional
powers.’
Human rights
lawyer Thulani Maseko, had been asked to comment on a visit by an African Union
(AU) human rights team which was on a fact-finding mission to Swaziland.
‘In response, Maseko said that, as human rights activists, they had concerns about the king’s sweeping constitutional powers and the fact that he the king was wrongfully placed above the Constitution. He said they were going to bring this and other human rights violations to the attention of the AU delegation.
‘In response, Maseko said that, as human rights activists, they had concerns about the king’s sweeping constitutional powers and the fact that he the king was wrongfully placed above the Constitution. He said they were going to bring this and other human rights violations to the attention of the AU delegation.
‘Not pleased
with the broadcast, the government was quick to respond. Msibi spoke on air the
following day to sternly warn the media against criticising the king. He said
the media should exercise respect and avoid issues that seek to question the
king or his powers.
‘The
minister said his message was not directed only to radio but to all media, both
private and government-owned. He said that in government they had noticed that
there was growing trend in the media to criticise the king when he should be
above criticism and public scrutiny,’ MISA reported.
Maseko, a
long-time campaigner for human rights, was jailed
for two years along with Nation Magazine
editor Bheki Makhubu in July 2014 for writing
articles critical of the Swazi judiciary.
See also
BILL LETS KING
CONTROL BROADCASTING
MOVE TO MERGE
STATE BROADCASTERS
BROADCASTING IS
NOT FOR THE PEOPLE
GOVT ‘TIGHTENS
GRIP ON CENSORSHIP’
KING’S PAPER
BACKS RADIO CENSORSHIP
GOVT BANS MPS
FROM THE RADIO
NEW RADIO
CENSORSHIP RULES RELEASED
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-radio-censorship-rules-released.html
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