Thanks Khama

| Monday June 15, 2009 00:00

It is a step in the right direction for the president and our democratic society. There is no doubt that the case between the President and the paper was going to be an embarrassing one for this country. We hope that the two will set aside their differences and move forward, for a better future for this country.

But we will not be fair if we fail to state that there seems to be a serious problem with the president's advisors. This lawsuit should never have come up in the first place had the advisors, if he has any, performed their task. The President should have spoken the first time the shooting of John Kalafatis was reported in the media. The silence from both the security minister and the presidency resulted in speculations, which led to negative reports that brought about the lawsuit. This was made worse by the Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi press conference that excluded the private press - a blunder by communications minister who seems so determined to wipe away the private press. She uses every opportunity that arises to attack the private press for doing its job.

The President's advisors have also failed in educating him about the importance of the media in a democratic Botswana. In treating the media as his worst enemy, he has adopted a stand that will not help him in leading this country to prosperity. We want to make it clear that Khama is our President, and we have great respect for him and that we are not out to discredit him as he always says. We are partners in the development of this country and very patriotic. We once again appeal to the president to treat us as such and engage us in the running of this country. Together we can face all obstacles and challenges facing this nation and emerge victorious.

One little but important request: The media needs an accessible and informed presidential press officer who will answer queries raised by newspapers. Should this be done, it will minimize the problem of newspapers writing uninformed reports.

Finally, we take this opportunity to appeal to our brothers and sisters in the press to continue informing, educating, and entertaining this nation with due care, and abide by the ethics of our profession. Let us strive to report factual and balanced stories, despite the difficult challenges we face in accessing information.