Advertising ban: Parliament should help media

The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, has directed the ICT Committee to discuss the directive issued by the President in which all government adverts should be given to government owned media like UBC and the New Vision.

The Speaker’s decision came after the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) petitioned Parliament over the matter. The committee will look at the implication of the directive on the media as well as the country as a whole and will make recommendations to the government. 

It is good that Parliament has intervened in the matter and if the President was not advised or ill-advised then a well-researched report of Parliament will give him proper and appropriate advice.

 The President’s directive, if implemented, has serious legal and economic consequences to the country. First by restricting adverts to specific media houses, it undermines the right to access to information, distorts the notion of the so-called “private sector led economy” where the private sector is a key driver of the economy through job creation and paying of taxes. 

Above all, it contravenes sections of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act (PPDA). For instance, Section 38 which gives the contracts committees and procurement and disposal units independence in execution of their mandate, Section 44 which talks about nondiscrimination of any bidder, Section 45 which talks about transparency, accountability and fairness and Section 46 which provides that all procurement and disposal shall be conducted in a manner to maximise “competition and achieve value for money”. 

Whereas many may look at this as a mere conflict between media and government, it affects the entire country, a reason all Ugandans should rally behind Parliament in dealing with the issue! This is because the media is a critical tool in achieving social, political and economic transformation. Any decision that cripples the media subsequently affects the entire country because the media is the voice of the voiceless. 

Media is the mouthpiece of society to the extent that everyone runs to the media whenever anything in the society goes wrong; from the traders to manufacturers, from boda bodas to taxi drivers, from politicians to the electorates, from students to lectures etc.!

So how can the country be silent when the media is facing problems? Why can’t we all unite to defend the media?

German Pastor Martin Neimoller once said: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist, then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew, then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me”

Back home, they directed the Ministries of Education and Health to give all construction contracts to the UPDF and we kept quiet because we are not contractors, now they have come for the media and some people are quiet because they are not journalists, so who will speak for us when they finally come for us?

The media is the last weapon that the citizens have; a weapon against injustice, a weapon to defend their rights, a weapon for economic empowerment and a weapon in doing business. 

So as Parliament interrogates this matter, it needs the support and prayers from all Ugandans because when the media is allowed to flourish, the citizens will benefit more!

Muhimbise George, 
[email protected]