State media bias complaints not new -Seretse's ex-advisor

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Tuesday May 8, 2012 00:00

There have been complaints that the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) hogs the government-funded media Botswana Television, Radio Botswana and Daily News - to unfairly gain unfettered access to rural areas.

This places the ruling BDP at an advantage, hence it always beats the opposition at the polls, critics have charged.

Speaking in an Africa Progress Report teleconference from London yesterday, Eigen, who is also the founder and chairman of Transparency International told this reporter that there has always been a dilemma on the issue of 'imbalance of expression of people's voices'.

'At the time the complaints were on places like Gaborone, Serowe and Francistown where the opposition felt there were imbalances in accessing the state media. However, at the time there was no answer to this dilemma,' he said. Eigen was responding to a question posed by the Botswana Guardian editor, Joel Konopo who sought to know why Botswana is seen as a shining example of democracy whilst the opposition here does not have equal access to state media compared to the ruling BDP does.

Eigen said the Seretse Khama administration was of the view that giving the opposition a voice through the state media was an intricate matter that needed to be handled with care 'to avoid ethnic fighting among people'.

Eigen, a member of the Africa Progress Panel, told the teleconference themed Jobs, Justice and Equity that in some countries, to avoid regionalism or tribalism taking root in a country's politics, governments ensure that 'the rural voter does not over-power the urban voter'. He added that there should be a balance of power between the two voters.

The report will be launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday. Bank of Botswana governor, Linah Mohohlo, who is a member of the Africa Progress Panel, will attend the occasion along with former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, former President of Nigeria, Olesegun Obassanjo and other prominent leaders. By press time, efforts to reach BDP spokesperson, Thabo Masalila were futile as his mobile rang unanswered.