Uganda: New Report Pulls Plug On Public Broadcaster

Kampala — A new report released yesterday says Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) does not meet the standards of a true public broadcaster. The report, a result of research started in 2008, attempts to correct the misconception about public broadcasting in Uganda, revealing that while many may regard UBC as the country's sole public broadcaster, in reality, the media entity is simply a state broadcaster.

The findings were based on feedback from key players in civil society as well as other political actors who were asked to pass verdict on whether UBC meets all the tenets of a public broadcaster.

 

According to the research, commissioned by leading policy research institutes and think-tanks, the Open Society Institute and the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project, "respondents from political society and civil society resoundingly rejected the notion that UBC is a public broadcaster."

 

The report said UBC remains "vulnerable" to political pressure which makes it difficult for the national broadcaster "to offer a platform for information and public debate on contending view points, to remain impartial and to hold those in power accountable."

 

"On numerous occasions, the President has criticised the opposition, describing their leaders in all manner of derogatory terms," noted the report. "Rarely do UBC stations give these leaders an opportunity to respond in the same stories."

 

The revelations are an indictment on the government's claims that UBC is an autonomous media institution devoid of partisan interest and suggests that the media institution is simply a propaganda machine for the ruling NRM regime.

 

The findings were discussed yesterday at a roundtable meeting in Kampala, and were backed by Justice Joseph Mulenga of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights.

 

Justice Mulenga said Uganda's current legal regime, which criminalises media offences, "ought to be examined."

 

"The report makes a point which is not often addressed that there are laws which provide for disciplinary action against errant journalists," he said, "The tendency of criminalising everything more or less is something that ought to be examined."

 

Findings of the research, which was conducted in 11 African countries, are expected to be published "sometime next year, probably in January," said Makerere don, Dr George Lugalambi, who conducted the research.

 

Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko disagreed with findings of the research.

 

"I would like to state that UBC is a public broadcaster," she said, adding: "You all know that it is autonomous but it's a government parastatal and will always defend the government and national interest."

 

- December 4, 2009 by Emmanuel Gyezaho

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Source: allafrica.com/stories/200912040487.html