Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
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timate <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> importance of this<br />
project for our sector in a c<strong>on</strong>text<br />
that is profoundly marked<br />
by technological changes which<br />
make it possible for almost any<strong>on</strong>e<br />
anywhere to generate and<br />
widely disseminate c<strong>on</strong>tent.<br />
To save <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> future of journalism<br />
in Africa and guarantee <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
emergence and success of good<br />
democratic governance as well<br />
as ec<strong>on</strong>omic and human development,<br />
we need a coaliti<strong>on</strong> of<br />
visi<strong>on</strong>ary media leaders committed<br />
to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> highest standards of<br />
ethics both in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir newsrooms<br />
and in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir business units.<br />
AMI will keep working tirelessly<br />
to achieve this objective for<br />
African media to become and<br />
remain pluralistic, independent<br />
and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> h<strong>on</strong>est voice of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
people. In terms of declarati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
of intent, Tanzania is well <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
way of achieving that objective.<br />
On <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ground, though, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> story<br />
is dramatically different, as<br />
documented by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Media Institute<br />
of Sou<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rn Africa’s book,<br />
So this is Democracy? The publicati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
launched in <str<strong>on</strong>g>Windhoek</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
<strong>on</strong> World Press Freedom Day<br />
in March this year, takes a dim<br />
view of what it calls <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> “mercenary”<br />
c<strong>on</strong>duct of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media<br />
during Tanzania’s October 2010<br />
general electi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
That’s <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r reality that<br />
needs to be fixed before <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
media can effectively take up<br />
its role in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> socio-political<br />
development of Africa.<br />
Secti<strong>on</strong> 1: Freedom<br />
Journalists rooting out<br />
corrupti<strong>on</strong> in Africa<br />
By Naomi Hunt<br />
Naomi Hunt has worked as a <strong>press</strong><br />
<strong>freedom</strong> adviser for Africa and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
Middle East at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Internati<strong>on</strong>al<br />
Press Institute (IPI), Vienna, Austria,<br />
since 2009.<br />
Corrupti<strong>on</strong> is a problem. In fact, with<br />
armed c<strong>on</strong>flict, it is a major impediment<br />
to development. According to<br />
statistics published <strong>on</strong> StopCorrupti<strong>on</strong>.eu,<br />
25 percent of African countries’<br />
GDP is lost to corrupti<strong>on</strong> each<br />
year. Corrupti<strong>on</strong> inflates <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> costs<br />
of achieving <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Millennium Development<br />
Goals (MDGs), too. According<br />
to <strong>on</strong>e statistic that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> website<br />
lists, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> cost of meeting <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> MDG<br />
<strong>on</strong> clean water and sanitati<strong>on</strong> will<br />
be $48 billi<strong>on</strong> more than it should<br />
as a result of corrupti<strong>on</strong>. Kickbacks,<br />
graft, bribery, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> misappropriati<strong>on</strong><br />
of funds – all undermine democracy<br />
and take resources away from those<br />
who need <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m most.<br />
While governments and NGOs have<br />
recognised <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> importance of increasing<br />
accountability and transparency,<br />
and many African countries<br />
have instituted anti-corrupti<strong>on</strong><br />
commissi<strong>on</strong>s, many have failed to<br />
promote a free and professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
media as a way to combat corrupti<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Journalists hold governments accountable<br />
by uncovering corrupti<strong>on</strong><br />
and by helping sustain public<br />
<strong>press</strong>ure so that corrupt officials<br />
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