These allegations, although denied by broadcasting director Mogomotsi Kaboyamodimo, should be a cause of concern to every Motswana. Kaboyamodimo has termed the allegations "unfortunate falsehood" and said that "these are not issues for discussion with newspapers". That is disturbing. It is disturbing because Btv as a government owned television is run with taxpayers' money. The taxpayers have every right to know how Btv is using their taxes. It is through the media that the taxpayer will know. The allegations that newspapers are following come from Kaboyamodimo's foot soldiers, the very people who on a daily basis deal with production of programmes for the station. When too many employees complain about the way their organisation is run, it behoves us as the media to investigate those allegations. This we do by duly offering all concerned parties the opportunity to say their side of the story. It is indeed a cause of concern when a head of an institution such as Btv tells a newspaper that a matter of national interest is none of its business. The nation wants to be assured that Btv will be functioning the following day, and that the station will not become an embarrassment. We agree it is a difficult task running a department with a myriad problems. However as a leader, you would not want to be seen to be perpetuating the very ills that your staff have always complained about. We have seen in the last few months transfers of very good producers, anchors and reporters, some of them fairly senior. We should be worried as viewers, when Btv fails to broadcast news at the right time, as happened last Thursday or when a blue movie interrupts a newscast. We should be worried when news and programme content is poor or gets poorer. We should be worried when we see our favourite newsreaders no longer reading news. Btv is still viewable across Africa and is watched by millions of people. We do not want to become Africa's laughing stock. The purpose of our enquiries as the media is to find out why certain allegations exist, why certain things are happening - such as blue movies interrupting a newscast. We ask ourselves if a wholesome transfer of experienced people might not have crippled the station. We hear of general staff discontent and we see programme quality deteriorating. We ask ourselves if staff discontent might be the reason. And we need answers as viewers and taxpayers. It is our view that Kaboyamodimo should appreciate and respect concerns from viewers and not dismiss them as none of their business. We hope that in the future he will be more forthcoming in his dealings with the media.
