By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE: Billy Macdonald Ntaote, the founder and editor of the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism in Lesotho has been appointed as Swaziland News Board Chairperson for a period of two years.

The appointment of the investigative journalist comes at a time when the publication in collaboration with other regional media organizations is preparing for various projects that seeks to facilitate access to information and enhance investigative journalism. 

The journalist went to the National University of Lesotho and was enrolled in the Faculty of Social Sciences in August 2005 to the Department of Political and Administrative Studiesand graduated in September 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Administration and Political Science. He participated in an Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) funded trainingforJournalists and Media Managers on reporting on Xenophobia and Afro-phobia in 2010, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Subsequently as part of the training he wrote an investigative feature on xenophobia in Malawi Lilongwe in 2010. The article was published in the Nation Publications Newspaper of Malawi. Ntaote alsoparticipated in a course on familiarisation of the African Media with the African Court on Human and People’s Rights held in 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania held by the ACHPR Judge President and Judges from across the African Continent. Following the familiarisation compiled a number of stories on African Court and Lesotho. He has reported for the Mail and Guardian on Lesotho and South Africa stories. The journalistparticipated in the first ever United States of America’s US-African Leaders Summit held in Washington as a Journalist on tour named: US Commitment to Africa 2014 Reporting Tour and was hosted the US Foreign Press Centre.