This year’s celebrations are held under the theme, “Shaping a future of rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights.” This is indeed a more relevant theme especially in this era where human rights continue to come under pressure due to a multiple of challenges, among them continuous economic and political strives in some parts of the world.
Elsewhere in the world, we have witnessed media freedoms, journalists’ safety, freedom of expression as well as other human rights increasingly coming under undue pressure. This is what we need to guard against as Batswana and we must thank our fore bearers for bequeathing us a Constitution that guarantees every individual all fundamental rights including freedom of speech underpinned by, among others, a free press. It is a legacy that this generation and those coming after it, must not lose sight of but continue to nourish and build on to safeguard the rights of everyone, not only in Botswana but with the rest of the world as well.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, let us keep in mind that Botswana as a member of the UN is a signatory to most international conventions. That Botswana subscribes to several international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which advocates, inter alia, freedom of speech, freedom of belief, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. However, just being signatory to these international instruments is not enough. To that end, government through Parliament, has and continues to enact laws that foster an enabling environment for every Motswana to express or exercise their human rights fully. Since independence, Botswana has never fallen short of upholding its democratic credentials. Intrinsic to this, is a moral imperative to recognise and protect fundamental human rights, including but not limited to the right to life, freedom of association, religious and cultural rights as well as freedom of expression as constitutionally provided for. In essence, this means the ability by the state and everyone else to recognise that meaningful participation in the democratic processes of the country require informed participants.
The media constitutes an integral part of good governance as the Fourth Estate because it is a platform on which Batswana can make informed decisions to participate meaningfully in the democratic processes of their country. Therefore, in creating an enabling environment for the media to thrive, government saw it fit to repeal the Media Practitioners Act of 2008 because it proved to be a red herring and an albatross around the neck of journalists in their functions as society’s watchdogs. In short, the Media Practitioners’ Act of 2008 was a threat to media freedom and free speech which militated against our national ideals as a democratic country.
Consequently, in keeping with our promises made towards the 2019 elections, Parliament passed the Media Practitioners Association Act in 2022 whose main import is to: a) Establish a Media Practitioners’ Association in order to promote and protect the freedom and independence of the media. b) Ensure the maintenance of high professional standards by making provision for the establishment of the Complaints and Disciplinary Committee, which will receive, investigate and deal with complaints involving the media. c) Provide for the registration of journalists and media enterprises and the professional bodies in the media fraternity. The Act was formulated in consultation with all relevant stakeholders who were candid in making sure that they had input before it was promulgated into law. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, as government, we value a free media given the sole reason that media plays a critical role in the advancement of freedom of expression for all but alive to the fact that certain responsibilities must be attached to such freedom. I, therefore, in conclusion director of ceremony, must emphasise that this calls for the media to have a high level of accuracy, report truthfully in addition to guaranteeing a free flow of information that is not biased for or against any particular section of society. In order to achieve this, the media must in keeping with the new Act, expend all efforts to improve the standards of professionalism as well as to foster integrity to safeguard the interests of journalism and the wellbeing of journalists. With this in mind, we can be rest assured of a future of rights where freedom of expression is a driver for all other human rights.
*DUMEZWENI MTHIMKHULU spoke at the World Press Freedom Day event as the Acting Minister for State President
