Botswana scribes battle to access information - MISA

World Press Freedom Day is being commemorated over three days ending tomorrow(Saturday). This year's theme is 'Difficulty in Access to Quality Information Undermines Media Freedom.' Butale said the lack of access to "quality" information hinders journalists from fulfilling their role as conduits of information to the public. 

He noted that this was why MISA-Botswana was driving adoption of the Freedom of Information Act that Parliament recently refused to pass.Other challenges facing journalists include laws and regulations that threaten the media fraternity, among them the Media Practitioners Act and the Botswana Communications Regulatory Bill, he said. Butale also expressed concern about "the regression" in the fight to transform state media into public media, especially that there was growing concern that state media served only the ruling elite.