Public broadcasting service vital - Mabiletsa

LERATO MALEKE
Correspondent | Tuesday March 13, 2012 00:00

 

Last week Mabiletsa tabled a motion in Parliament on the establishment of public broadcasting in Botswana, looking at Botswana Television (Btv), RB1 and RB2, which seeks to explore the context of broadcasting service in the country. Outlining the motion, the Kgatleng legislator cited the United States of America (US) where he said public broadcasting is decentralised and is not government operated, but receives government support.  Further the outspoken MP, who seems to have done his research well, said it strengthens democracy, the free flow of ideas and debate and helps in the participation in the political process of people as informed citizens.

He quoted a number of states with good public broadcasting policies and these included New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom  (UK) as well as African states of Namibia, Kenya and South Africa. When giving an overview of public broadcasting in South Africa and Botswana, he argued that Batswana are being taken for granted. 'We talk more of Vision 2016 which emphasizes on the society development. Why is government failing to empower Batswana through the airwaves?' he asked.

According to Mabiletsa, Btv's standard of programming is very low. 'I feel shy at times to mention it because of its poor programming and mainly the use of English and more of its content, which is foreign,' he said. Mabiletsa is worried that capable young Batswana, who are experts in the content-provision and programming, especially those who did media studies, who could be engaged by government and contribute in uplifting the standard of the local television, are being overlooked.

To his surprise government continues to engage unqualified personnel in television and radio. Therefore, he said, Botswana has to learn from what South Africa is doing. In a well-researched presentation, the MP argued that the situation in Botswana is bad because there is not even a single community radio station where different communities can express their views and share different cultural views.  South Africa is dominated by such community radio stations, which advocate the promotion of indigenous languages, cultural diversity and religion.

Mmegi can reveal that the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) is sitting on licences, as it is afraid that these radio stations would not be apolitical. A number of companies that have applied for the licences have not been successful and are still trying their luck. Mabiletsa therefore appealed to government to issue licences to qualified and capable companies to clear the air. He said studies have shown that the very same community radio stations can subsidise public broadcasting. Since the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) came into power Botswana has had only one radio station which broadcasts in Setswana and the MP is not happy, adding that other languages are not catered for. 'Something ought to be done because as a developing country we cannot operate like this,' he said. Further he said whenever you visit a house all the eyes are glued on South African soap operas and Batswana prefer their radio stations.

'Where is our indigenous knowledge, our talent - we need to support our local talent for a good media content,' he added.   Therefore he has appealed to the relevant authorities to provide programmes that reflect Batswana, their ideas, values and artistic creativity. Moreover he said programmes that offer plurality of views and a variety of news, information and analysis from a Tswana point of view and those that advance the national interests are vital.  'Provisions within the legal framework of broadcasting and telecommunications in the country as implied should be offered without any political or commercial interference,' he said.  In South Africa all 11 languages get airtime and these include German, Hindi, Portuguese and the San languages, with stations falling into three categories: public service broadcasting, commercial and community radio stations. Opposition parties in Botswana have long raised a complaint about Btv and its sister radio stations arguing that they are used to promote government propaganda and hence fails to cover them. This is a concern especially during election time.

Mabiletsa concurs with this thinking and has urged the government to act since the next general elections are getting closer. Although the ruling party MPs showed discomfort on the presentation, which they said was lengthy, the Kgatleng legislator maintained that 'research is vital'. The debate on the motion starts on Friday.