We have noted concerns contained in an official document leaked to Mmegi about a recent report duly made to the oversight institution, the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), implicating some of our dear colleagues in the journalism fraternity in alleged acts of ‘bribery’ and ‘maladministration’.
For a fact, in a democratic society such as Botswana, the media plays a crucial role of being watchdog, holding the powerful to account and exposing all possible wrongdoing for the benefit of the public.
There has been a nagging question about who watches the watchdog after all? Perhaps, the investigations into alleged wrongful acts implicating those supposed to be playing the watchdog role will shed more light into what has happened such that the newshounds are caught on the other side of the table.
Following the latest revelation, a requisite societal debate about who should be watching the watchdog will be apt. The newsmen and women have a duty to execute their functions with utmost transparency, fairness, honesty and understanding that they provide a voice for the voiceless and do not serve their individual greedy interests.
In the document leaked to Mmegi, we have realised that the DCEC has since re-directed the complaint against the newshounds to the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship to thoroughly investigate the case of maladministration which does not fall within the scope of corruption and economic crime as the matter is more administrative.
The Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship has been mandated to conduct internal investigation at the implicated SOE and report the findings to the DCEC within a reasonable time as the feeling is that public funds were wasted on a course that served the interests of some individuals.
The circulating document speaks to an allegedly embedded acts of ‘maladministration’ at a State Owned Entreprise (SOE) with allegations that some in the media ranks (four in number) were used as the last line of defence of this SOE (which will not be named for now) as they were not given an opportunity to speak for themselves.
It’s shocking that this SOE had engaged a team of practising journalists to “suppress negative media coverage through financial incentives and gifts to journalists.”
Allegedly, management of this SOE has been “bribing journalists to prevent negative reporting about the authority’s activities.” It’s painful that the scheme allegedly involved “buying journalists expensive alcohol beverages and monetary pay outs ranging from P20, 000 to P35, 000 and others”.
Now that the scheme has been leaked, we appeal to our dear colleagues to abandon this illegality as it may lead them into more trouble and has a potential to even destroy their hard earned careers.
They better focus on their core business without inviting more trouble to their lives as their names are already all over and more so that they will face the investigators probing the incident. Heads are likely to roll at this SOE. As for the newshounds, it’s not too late to reform and continue with the watchdog role.
“Journalists should be watchdogs, not lapdogs.” -Unknown
