Mathe encourages journalists to report impartially during election

By Muyambango Ngumbele

Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) Executive Director, Dr Audrin Mathe  has encouraged journalists to report  impartially on the upcoming general election.

Dr. Mathe was speaking to 36 Journalists who participated in  the four (4) – days Election Reporting Training  held  on 10 – 13 September 2024 , in Windhoek at NAMPA head office.

According to MICT Executive Director,  elections allows people to exercise their powers to choose or change leaders of their country, region or local authorities, saying elections are consistent for democratically governments and for the Namibian citizens to effectively participate in sharping the direction of the country.

He added that to achieve effective and impartial in election coverage ,  journalists must prepare themselves by acquiring basic knowledge of relevant legal documentation such as the constitution, the electoral code of conduct and any regulations that may guide journalists on how to perform in covering.

At the sometime he said journalists should watch and report on the activities of elections management system so that citizens can be better informed.

 “elections do not only concern the participation of the candidates and political parties but are also an important opportunity for ordinary people to express themselves to relate what issues are important to them”.

Dr. Mathe emphasized on the media’s important role which is to maintain equal distance to all the parties or candidates to collectively excise its role as a critical observer in the election processes.

He however noted that the President and members of the National Assembly are not going to be elected by the media,  but the job of the media is to provide a platform for political parties and candidates to communicate the message to the electorate.

“You may not personally like the candidate or the political party that’s fine by me, but those candidates are nominated by members of the parties to run for office that’s why journalists need to avoid supporting a specific candidate or political party” Mathe said.

He divulged that the recent statistics of Namibia dropping to second place in the latest press ranking , because journalists were bad from media conferences at State House.

“There’s a need to encourage the interest of the media to integrate election, write stories into the core areas such as politics, economics, governance and corruption”. He explained.

Meanwhile ,  Manager of Editorial and Operation  at Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) , Mr Jota Kazondu expressed his final feelings and appreciations to UNESCO,  Namibia Media Trust (NMT), DW Akademie and all journalists and ensured that their future remains brighter in informing the nation.

 “NAMPA is a child of MICT whatever they do is done under the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and this training was all the Ministry and government’s effort to ensure that we are able to do and play our role.” Kazondu concluded.

Journalists were equipped with skills to navigate  the complexities of Namibia’s electoral processes with skills  to deliver fair and balanced reporting.

Ms. Zoe Titus , Namibia Media Trust Director  said that “together, we will   explore the essential roles and responsibilities of journalists during elections, offering  practical      guidance for both  pre- and post-election coverage. Whether  you are an experienced  journalist or covering elections for the first time , this  training will enhance your ability  to serve your audiences with accuracy and trustworthiness”

The training  workshop on election reporting is part of the  ongoing project monitoring media reportage  on the upcoming  elections, overseen by the Office of the Media Ombudsman.

The training was made possible by UNESCO, NAMPA , DW Akademie Namibia and Namibia Media Trust.