Minister speaks out on NAB’s decision to boycott gov’t press briefings

The Minister for ICT and National Guidance has accused members of National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) of double standards following their decision to boycott all government activities until relevant authorities consider to reverse the presidential directives to channel all government adverts to Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) and Vision Group.

Addressing a press briefing that was barely attended by private media houses in Kampala on July 25, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the ICT and National Guidance Minister said it is unfair for private media to boycott government activities yet the matter is being negotiated by NAB and government.

“The interpretation of the President’s letter by the private media is like they will not get any support from government. As the ministry of information, we are discussing it with NAB. I don’t think it is a sign of wisdom to be discussing something and then they start using blackmail in the form of boycotting government functions,” Dr Baryomunsi said.

“Unless they also say we should boycott the discussions. They have also appealed to the President and he has offered to have a meeting with them on August 10. It is important to wait for the proceeds from the discussions,” he added.

He further explained that the private media should liaise with government to reach a fairer consensus, saying that the boycott is more likely not to yield tangible results since a media house cannot in any way dictate advertising platforms for the government.

“It is unwise to go into direct confrontation with government, because if I have an advert you can’t force me to give it to you but we can discuss and see how we can work together,” he said.

He added: “We have not disagreed in the ongoing discussions, therefore, I don’t see any need for the boycott, private media should continue to work with government as the negotiations go on.”

Reacting to the March 6 Presidential letter in which he directed all government advertising to be channeled solely through UBC and print media through the New Vision (NV), NAB through the association general secretary, Mr Joseph Beyanga, on July 18 wrote to the secretary to the treasury, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi communicating their position to stop covering all government activities with immediate effect unless government reverses its decision to ban advertising in private media houses.

On July 24, the Uganda Editors’ Guild (UEG) also called for a boycott of government activities following the presidential directive describing it as a threat to media freedom in the country.

“The Presidential directive is also in violation of the liberalised economy trajectory adopted by Uganda in the 1990s, where the public agencies are expected to compete fairly with the private sector for revenue and government businesses,” UEG said in the Monday statement.