I have been involved in media development for most of my adult life. It is 20 years since I first made my foray into the media. I think it was my love for taking on new challenges that spurred me to join Patrick van Rensburg, my mentor and the finest journalist I know, at Mmegi wa Dikgang. At the time, I knew Patrick only by reputation. A former South African diplomat in Lumumba’s Congo, he had fled his country in protest against Apartheid to take up citizenship in Botswana where he started folk schools based on the education with production model. I am a product of one such school, Swaneng, the birthplace of Mmegi wa Dikgang - and the newspaper where I first cut my journalism teeth.
Twenty years ago, more Batswana were literate in Setswana than in English. Both languages were treated as official. The colonial administration had, out of necessity, made Setswana – which was spoken by up to 90 percent of the population – a language of record. The size of the language’s geography was significant. It had a large ethnic base and there were compelling reasons – social, political and economic – for using it as a national and official language. The colonial administration’s pragmatism towards the language, was borne out of the realisation that Setswana was the lingua franca of the Protectorate. The regime decreed knowledge of Setswana a requirement for service in the public sector, by far the largest employer at the time.
This situation was carried over into the immediate post-independence period. Whilst there was no attempt to develop the language as a national asset, there was an acknowledgment by the new administration that Setswana was of national importance. To highlight some of this acknowledgement:
l A Setswana Language Council exists to spearhead the technical development of the language, especially with respect to the building of the corpora;
l Most official texts were in English but there was no shortage of Setswana literature;
l Tuition in primary schools was in Setswana, initially taught from grades 1 to 6 and later to 4;
l Setswana was a compulsory subject in secondary school;
l The language had a standard orthography;
l Texts, including those in Mathematics, had been developed for use in primary and secondary schools;
l The national university and teacher training colleges were offering Setswana as an optional subject and producing graduates in the language.
A few years ago, I returned from Namibia after my stint at Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) headquarters. I was surprised at the level of neglect Setswana had been subjected to in the short years I had been out of the country. Unlike in the past, Government departments did not seem to be obliged to publish documents in Setswana. Commitment to the development of Setswana and other indigenous languages was couched in platitudes – like in the Vision 2016 document where it is stated that “the nation’s languages must be taught to a high standard at all levels” and that “all Batswana must have access to the media through national and local radio, television and newspapers”.
A number of concerned Batswana approached me with the idea of resuscitating the language through the media. They wanted to start a Setswana language newspaper, but were unsure about the reception in the market. The feasibility study that followed made some interesting revelations. Among the findings:
There was unanimity among political parties and local government authorities that Setswana must take its rightful place in society. This would require political will;
Setswana would benefit from the development of minority languages spoken in the country, which are spoken by about 10 to 15 percent of the population;
The role of language in education should be re-defined as this would unlock the potential in our learners and teachers and lead to a nation of innovators unimpeded by a foreign language they do not understand;
The use of Setswana in public affairs would lead to the participation of the majority population in matters of public interest and make for informed decision-making. This particular point was identified as a serious weakness in the country’s democracy;
In line with the wishes of the national vision, Vision 2016, a strong culture of reading must be cultivated among the general populace. This should make for “an informed and educated nation”;
The survey also revealed a nation hungry for reading Setswana. Out of the 559 respondents interviewed, 94% said they would read Setswana newspapers if these were available. A very high proportion of the interviewees (82%) felt that Setswana should be used in government business.
I became involved with the Mokgósi initiative in a project management capacity, in early 2002.
There were initially eight promoters, who I advised to get more Batswana involved as this was no ordinary business project. Capital would not be enough for it to succeed: Mokgósi needed as many people from as diverse a background as possible to ‘buy-into’ the concept.
The number of shareholders today stands at 40. They are drawn from a wide range of disciplines.
It was not a particularly tidy model to follow: the contributions came in dribs and drabs, which meant that the programme of action was severely compromised as a result of undercapitalisation from the beginning. Initially we used commissioned personnel to run the paper. Not even the editor was on the payroll. We also outsourced key services such as design and production, accounting, newspaper distribution and printing.
The good news is that the product had market appeal. To differentiate it from existing titles, we packaged it as a broadsheet, the country’s first. The writing was initially intended to be light, easy to follow. Good photography was to be an integral part of the product. This paid off. Within six months of its launch, the paper won a number of prizes sponsored by MISA (Botswana), being ‘Best Designed Newspaper’; ‘Journalist of the Year’ and ‘Photographer of the Year’. Last year it won in the ‘Business Reporter of the Year’ category.
As a business, Mokgósi has a long way to go. The paper operates in a market that is increasingly becoming crowded and competitive. Botswana has a population of 1,7 million, with an adult literacy rate of 79 percent. Other than Mokgósi, there are seven other newspapers that compete for news and ad-spend. Publishing in Setswana is therefore no recipe for success. To the contrary, it could be a recipe for failure.
In the absence of a policy framework that supports the development of the national language, the paper is a threatened species. Worse, the commercialisation of the free distribution government Daily News in recent months, has adversely affected the paper’s share of the government advertising revenue, 90 percent of which was derived from this source alone during the first year. Traditionally, newspapers in small population markets like Botswana derive the bulk of their revenue from advertising. The experience of the past 12 months indicate that in so far as Mokgósi is concerned, this may not apply. Mokgósi must therefore remain in the forefront of innovation with respect to its income generating and market penetration strategies. It must be innovative in the way it looks. It must be innovative in the way it presents information to the public. It must be innovative in the way it seeks to reach out to its readers, potential and actual, literate or semi-literate; influential or the average person in the street.
Any new project has the potential to unlock economic opportunities that were hitherto unknown, and Mokgósi is no exception. Among the opportunities that may emanate as a result of the popularisation of Setswana are research in the capacity building of the language, the effect of its widespread use in the media on national/local government policies and its potential impact in promoting good governance and public accountability; the development of dictionaries, the development of software to facilitate its use in the computer, translation, transcription, standardisation of Sotho-Tswana as a modern language (Sotho-Tswana is spoken by an estimated 8 – 10 million people in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe).
The development of Setswana as a national language, let alone as a cross-border language, requires huge investments in advocacy initiatives. There are an estimated 7,000 languages spoken throughout the world today. Thirty-six per cent face the prospect of extinction. A third of this are said to be in Africa. It took the Welsh 50 years to appreciate the value of their language and to lobby for its resuscitation. Perhaps the most classic case in the modern era is the Hebrew language, which was but technically dead 50 years ago.
Language encapsulates a people’s culture, social mores, values, and knowledge. When a language dies, a people’s knowledge dies with it. Language is about economic and social empowerment. More people can be brought into public and productive life by wider and more productive use of indigenous languages like Setswana. The development of language can be used to promote a sound understanding of entrepreneurship, commerce, economics, history, science and technology. More of our people need to be educated and educate themselves on issues of their material and natural environment, of economic, social and scientific development, and all aspects of culture, entertainment, sports and humour; of the importance of improving individual and societal health, and of international, regional and African affairs. The mass use of indigenous languages like Setswana can carry the population at large to realising these ideals.
This is an abridged version of an acceptance speech delivered by the former editor of Mmegi, Methaetsile Leepile, at the MISA Annual Gala Dinner in Maseru on Friday after he won the MISA Press Freedom Award. The award recognises an individual or organisation that has done the most to further press freedom and freedom of expression in the Southern African region in line with the Windhoek Declaration on the Promotion of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press. Previous winners include the late Makani Kabwedza (editor of Zimbabwe’s Moto magazine), Geoff Nyarota (editor of the defunct Daily News, in Zimbabwe), the late Carlos Cardosso (founder and editor of MediaFax, in Mozambique), Gwen Lister (publisher and editor of The Namibian), Fred M’mebe (publisher of The Post, in Zambia), and the late Bright Mwape (a former journalist at The Post).
