Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

exhortation to <strong>the</strong> media to adopt
a solution-based approach as
demonstrated by Nobel Prize winner
Amartya Sen.
In his book, Poverty and Famines:
An Essay on Entitlement and
Deprivation (1981), Sen argues that
no famine has ever taken place in
a country with multi-party politics
and a free media. Famine, he says,
occurs not from a lack of food,
but from inequalities built into its
distribution. Fix that reality and half
<strong>the</strong> famine problem is resolved. It is
on record that his work on <strong>the</strong> causes
of famine led to <strong>the</strong> development of
practical solutions for preventing
or limiting <strong>the</strong> effects of real or
perceived shortages of food. It is a
lesson <strong>the</strong> media and policymakers
in much of Africa would do well to
learn.
“... Were it left to me
to decide whe<strong>the</strong>r
we should have a
government without
newspapers or
newspapers without
a government, I
should not hesitate a
moment to prefer <strong>the</strong>
latter.”
In July 2009, in his historic address
to Africa from Ghana, US President
Barack Obama emphasised that an
“independent press is part of <strong>the</strong>
capable, reliable and transparent
institutions that will lead Africa to
success in <strong>the</strong> 21st century”.
Yes, we can, but only if we can
tame <strong>the</strong> enemy within. Fixing <strong>the</strong>
reality that is <strong>the</strong> sorry state of <strong>the</strong>
continent is one thing; leading <strong>the</strong>
continent to success in this century
is a different kettle of fish. Obama’s
54 | Media in Africa - 2011
optimism is as inspiring as is Sen’s
endorsement of <strong>the</strong> role of free
media. But let’s get real.
Despite this upbeat mood, <strong>the</strong>
media sector still faces many
challenges that prevent it from
fulfilling its promise: from repeated
vicious attacks on press freedom,
very little technology adaptation
and <strong>the</strong> almost impossible task of
accessing capital, to a lack of ethical
leadership within a large number of
media organisations.
Lack of ethical leadership, in
particular, is of growing concern
as evidenced in <strong>the</strong> recent general
election in Tanzania, <strong>the</strong> goingson
in Uganda, <strong>the</strong> 2008 civil strife
in Kenya and <strong>the</strong> 1994 genocide
in Rwanda. In all <strong>the</strong>se cases, <strong>the</strong>
media’s shameless partisanship flew
in <strong>the</strong> face of <strong>the</strong> much-touted
ethical principles <strong>the</strong>y claim to
ascribe to.
To help address <strong>the</strong>se core
constraints, <strong>the</strong> African Media
Initiative (AMI) has embarked on an
ambitious programme of activities
anchored around streng<strong>the</strong>ning
<strong>the</strong> sector from <strong>the</strong> owners’ and
operators’ perspective. Indeed, <strong>the</strong>se
key players have traditionally not
been involved in media development
efforts. Yet <strong>the</strong>y hold <strong>the</strong> future
of private and independent media
houses in <strong>the</strong>ir hands.
The African Media Leaders Forum
(AMLF) is precisely designed to address
this anomaly by bringing toge<strong>the</strong>r
every year some of <strong>the</strong> most
respected media owners and operators
from around <strong>the</strong> continent. This
flagship AMI programme represents
a unique platform to discuss <strong>the</strong>
challenges and opportunities <strong>the</strong>y
face and provides <strong>the</strong>m with <strong>the</strong>
necessary tools to fully participate
in <strong>the</strong> economic and human development
of <strong>the</strong> continent.
AMI does not waiver in its belief that
strong, independent and professional
media are central to achieving
and maintaining good governance
and all <strong>the</strong> positive good that stems
from having responsible and accountable
authority. It accepts as a
truism that media are irreplaceable
public watchdogs, providing a platform
for a well-informed citizenry
to endorse or sanction its leaders. In
addition, media that perform <strong>the</strong>ir
watchdog role by making government
actions more transparent
helps spur economic development
overall by making it more difficult
for public funds to be embezzled.
The danger is that <strong>the</strong> political
class often mistakes this critical
role of <strong>the</strong> media, especially, for
“irresponsibility”, leading many
important media players to be
labelled state “enemies”. In this
regard, AMI is forthright in affirming
its defence of <strong>the</strong> media as a friend
and not enemy of <strong>the</strong> people.
African media do not want to be
and will never be <strong>the</strong> enemy. We are
<strong>the</strong> friend of African progress, <strong>the</strong>
partner of African success and an
important element of <strong>the</strong> African
renaissance.
By stating this belief, we at AMI
are not denying that in some
unfortunate instances some media
houses have participated in failing
<strong>the</strong>ir societies. That needs to be
corrected.
Indeed, for African media to play
<strong>the</strong>ir fundamental and critical roles
of streng<strong>the</strong>ning our nations, it
is essential that <strong>the</strong>ir leaders take
<strong>the</strong>mselves and <strong>the</strong>ir operations
seriously. That is why African media
leaders attending <strong>the</strong> 3rd AMLF
in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on 18-19
November 2010, recommended that
AMI spearheads an industry-led
process to develop a “Leadership
and Guiding Principles” code for
<strong>the</strong> exclusive use of African media
owners and operators.
This work has started in Kenya
and we are looking forward to report
significant progress at <strong>the</strong> 4th
AMLF to be held in Tunisia on 9-11
November 2011. We cannot overes-