Namibia state broadcaster scraps "Chat Shows"

| Friday March 6, 2009 00:00

Members of the public used to phone in to express and discuss a number of issues. The government and ruling party's, SWAPO argue that the shows are being abused to attack the party and government leadership. A ruling party arm called the Swapo Elders Council and the National Council called for the chat shows to be reviewed in 2008.

In a statement MISA-Namibia says it strongly opposes any suggesting scrapping, controlling or censoring information in the public domain.  MISA-Namibia says while agreeing that there is a need for the programme to be professionalised, it is important to recognize that the chat shows were established to provide the citizens of the country with an avenue to express their concerns.

MISA-Namibia adds that it regrets that the cancellation of the morning chat shows comes at a time that MISA had successful engaged the Ministry of information Communication and technology on the need to facilitate the training of moderators for chat shows, as well as the transformation of the NBC.

The statement further states that MISA Namibia Chairperson, Ms Sandra Williams had, during the meeting with the Minister of Information, Joel Kaapanda, a few weeks ago, advised that the programme not be removed but that it should be professionalised.

'With the upcoming elections, there is need for citizens to speak out and raise concerns; this is a sign of a matured democracy. Although people do not agree, they can agree to disagree, and NBC must put mechanism in place which includes competent, professional moderators and clear guidelines for the programme', reads the statement.

 'Closing down the programnme should not be an option; NBC management should look at other avenues to address the concerns highlighted. Taking away the chat shows is like taking away the land mark of freedom of expression in a 19-year-old democracy, and raises the questions about Namibia's commitment to freedom of expression,'says MISA-Namibia Director, Mathew Haikali.

'While the media should adhere strictly to the ethics of journalism and ensure that these are kept to the highest standards, MISA Namibia would like to repeat the call we made early last year, that the citizen should show restrain in using the NBC platforms rather than NBC suppressing the programmes'.