The collusion between Prime Minister(PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini and Mbabane East Member of Parliament(MP) Welcome Dlamini in an attempt to regulate the media should not be addressed in isolation,this is actually a convergence of narratives by the Executive and the Legislature whose long-standing ambition to control journalists has bounced back to try and influence public discourse.
Perhaps,it is important to once again clarify the role of the media in a democratic society because apart from its constitutional mandate to inform, the press seeks to demand accountability in the public administration.
One of the basic values and principles of public administration is transparency and without an independent and vibrant media,the public cannot receive timely, accurate and credible information as the basic resource, to hold those in power accountable.
It is important to clarify that the so called proposed State media regulation is nothing,but yet another attempt to silence the media in a country where rampant corruption is rife.
Prime Minister Russell Dlamini accused the media of failing to regulate itself for over twenty(20) years and this, is a false narrative perhaps pushed,either with an intention to achieve a certain political agenda or on an ignorant point of view.
It is very unfortunate to see MP Welcome Dlamini,a former President of the Swaziland National Association of Journalists(SNAJ) allowing ambitions to climb the political ladder to blind his objectivity in this matter,he has been in the media for more than twenty(20) years as an editor and one of the leading investigative journalists and knows exactly what happened.
That the media self-regulation was delayed by squabbles among journalists as per MP Welcome Dlamini’s sentiments is far from the truth.
The Honorable Mbabane East MP is fully aware that we used to disagree through writing while he was the editor of the Times and sometimes,our disagreements would reach the boiling point publicly but, we would call each other, laugh and discusss issues privately like we do “even now”’because having a different political view on issues does not mean you are enemies.
The Prime Minister is speaking about twenty(20) years, I’ve been in the media for the past fifteen(15) years having served as an Executive member of the Eswatini Editors Forum(EEF)and therefore I’m better positioned to state what happened to ensure that the PM’s false statements does not penetrate and influence the public discourse unchallenged.
In 2017, Nation Magazine editor Bheki Makhubu invited me to his office and lobbied me to vote for Swazi Observer Managing editor Mbongeni Mbingo as Chairman of the Editors Forum.
But I must thank Mbongeni Mbingo who despite being an editor of newspaper with links to the State,defended the media in front of MPs during the recent Parliament induction.
Mbingo was mentored by editor Bheki Makhubu and the Swazi Observer editor, through a series of articles,played a very important role in ensuring the release of the Nation Magazine editor when the judiciary through the then Chief Justice(CJ) Michael Ramodibedi,launched an attack on the media by arresting Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Rudolf Maseko.
This is what Russell must understand,we have been witnessing the three(3) institutions of the State being the Judiciary, Parliament and the Executive alternating in an attempt to silence the media and we won’t be intimidated by him and MP Welcome Dlamini.
I will not allow my minor professional disagreement with Mbongeni Mbingo to blind my objectivity as if he did nothing to defend the media, he tried, that’s why we voted for him as the Chairman of the Editors Forum.
But let me give a lecture to the new Prime Minister,he cannot claim to know what delayed the media self-regulation more than us who work in the media, when it comes to issues of the media,he is and will remain a novice.
Maybe,we can refer to MP Welcome Dlamini as a media expert because he is a former journalist but unfortunately, he is now a conflicted expert with political ambitions to be appointed to Cabinet.
In 2011, at the height of the media capture and a desire by the Executive led by the then Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, Nelsiwe Shongwe, the then Minister of Information, Communication and Technology(ICT) tried to push the media state regulation,we vigorously opposed that political agenda.
In an effort to self-regulate the media,we then approached respectable and independent minded Judge Thomas Masuku who was fired by the then CJ Michael Ramodibedi to chair the Media Complaints Commission(MCC), personally, I held a series of breakfast and lunch meetings with Judge Masuku trying to understand how the process will work as I was new with only two(2) years in the industry.
The process to self-regulate the media is ongoing and the only thing Government can do,is to advice how to speed-up the process, not to impose State regulations in an attempt to control the media.
PM Russell Mmiso Dlamini told editors during a recent Breakfast Meeting that,the media will be happy with the State regulation, he must first understand that we are not fools.
The media’s core mandate among others, is to hold Government and those in power accountable including exposing corruption and other wrongdoing and therefore, cats cannot hold a meeting to discuss the welfare of a mouse.
In context, the Executive cannot hold a meeting with the Legislature to discuss the protection and the independence of journalists, whenever cats hold a meeting, they will always discuss strategies to catch and eat a mouse.
It should be noted that,the attempt to self-regulate came after the same editor Bheki Makhubu who is being ridiculed by politicians like MP Welcome Dlamini today, defended the media against State regulation.
Mbongeni Mbingo gave Makhubu a platform to write articles in the Observer defending the media.
I will not delve on the petty squabble between Makhubu and MP Welcome Dlamini,I come from LaMgabhi eTiyeni next to Dlangeni and I cannot interpret it as an insult when someone say “wena mfana wasemakhaya kaLaMgabhi e-Dlangeni”.
Honorable MP Welcome Dlamini’s home area Msunduza(Skomu) is under my Chief Mvemve Hlophe and I lost interest in Dlamini’s press statement after reading a paragraph where he seemed to suggest that being an MP is an achievement.
The truth is; any fool with political ambitions, educated or not and with funding to distribute rice, fund soccer tournaments and then make false promises to the voters can easily become an MP in this country.
The issue here is not about who is better between editor Bheki Makhubu and MP Welcome Dlamini and their place of residence, MP Welcome Dlamini is intelligent in his own space but he must not compare himself to Nation Magazine Bheki Makhubu.
Even myself as an international journalist,I cannot compare myself to editor Bheki Makhubu because that’s where the problem starts, when a junior is blinded by power, fame and popularity and then conclude that he is better that senior editors in the field of journalism, you can never be better than your senior even if the public can perceive you that way.
Honorable MP Welcome Dlamini as a former editor who knows exactly what happened in the process of self-regulation is now summersaulting, using the media as a bargaining tool to impress the PM perhaps, with an alleged intention to secure a Cabinet post.
Worth-noting, in 2014, while the process of self-regulation was ongoing, editor Bheki Makhubu was arrested and as journalists,our focus was diverted to concentrate on demanding the release of Makhubu.
The editor was absolutely right when he told MP Russell that “we have been fighting a government that is trying to kill us”, and this delayed even the process of self-regulation.
The PM must organise a meeting with the Editors Forum including Bheki Makhubu to understand what delayed or halted the process of self-regulation that had already commenced, instead of relying on MP Welcome Dlamini whom we respect as a journalist but unfortunately, his objectivity is now blinded by political ambitions and therefore,he cannot advice Cabinet accordingly.
This is the same Government that arrested editor Bheki Makhubu merely for writing an article in defense of the then Chief Anti Government Vehicle Abuse Unit Bhantjana Gwebu who was arrested and subjected to injustice by the then Chief Justice(CJ) Michael Ramodibedi.
Now,the same regime is telling Makhubu or the media that the process of self-regulation was or has been delayed for twenty(20) years when our focus was diverted at the time to demand Makhubu’s release.
But in conclusion,let me warn MP Welcome Dlamini that, the media is not his bargaining tool to climb the political ladder, we will definitely ensure that, the State is prevented from regulating the media.
We fully understand that, this is a collusion between the Executive arm of Government and Parliament against the media and just like we did in 2011, we will lobby the international community and other diplomatic stakeholders to ensure that, the State is prevented from regulating the media.
But apart from that, we will continue capacitating the public to fully understand that, the intention by the State to regulate the media is to ensure that, the Nation is prevented from receiving information about the corruption in the public administration that resulted to about 70% of the population living in extreme poverty.
We fully understand that, almost all politicians have a desire or political appetite to control the media but, our duty is to mitigate those desires in the public interest and/or in defense of the constitutional right to information.
Prime Minister Russell Dlamini.