Ministers laud Monitor for exposing corruption

The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, has said the Daily Monitor newspaper is doing an excellent job in exposing corruption.

Dr Baryomunsi said overall, Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U) has done very well in terms of its editorial content and as a business.

He, however, said the government expects the company to ensure objectivity, accuracy, and truthfulness.

“[What] infuriate[s] us is when you get facts wrong. As long as you do not write it maliciously or distort information, which is why a section of people in government think your editorial policy is anti-establishment. We have to work together to change that,” he said.

“Sometimes you write an editorial which is extremely critical bordering on partisanship. When it comes out, ensure that what comes out is balanced,” he added.

Dr Baryomunsi made the remarks while meeting the new NMG-U Managing Director, Ms Susan Nsibirwa, and NTV Uganda General Manager Johnson Omollo at the minister’s office in Kampala yesterday.

He said during the Daily Monitor’s 30th-anniversary dinner, he told guests that the newspaper is not an enemy despite President Museveni referring to it as one, adding that the head of State does that on a lighter note.

He added that the newspaper adds value to journalism in the country and called on the company to work with the government to “iron out any differences”.

Mr Godfrey Kabyanga, the State minister for National Guidance, said the President has on several occasions threatened to close Daily Monitor but the minister defends the company because they are key in the fight against corruption.

 “On the issues of corruption, you have become whistleblowers. Before a story comes out, seek [a] government [comment] to give it a balanced opinion. A section of people in government have a view that your editorial policy is anti-government because of the negative headlines,” he said.

Ms Nsibirwa said Daily Monitor’s mandate is to inform and it is not good for it to have an acrimonious relationship with the government.

“Even as media where our mandate is to inform, it does us no good to have an acrimonious relationship with you. We were talking to the attorney general and he told us to inform them where it is wrong and give credit where it is due, then everything will be okay. We want to see that,” she said.

She added that during a recent meeting, she told the staff that there is need to change the “enemy” label because it is not the company’s mission but to positively influence society through its work, which is how it measures its work.

Ms Nsibirwa said when the newspaper gets things wrong, there are always mechanisms for correcting them and there are ongoing internal processes to ensure that the newspaper is reporting objectively and factually to ensure that the relationship with the government isn’t an acrimonious one.

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