Botswana has scored 76.75 on the World Press Freedom Index for 2021, marking the highest count the country has ever achieved since 2002 when the press freedom index was first published by Reporters Without Borders.
According to the report by the France-based press freedom advocacy Organisation, Botswana has also jumped 10 places on the annual press freedom index since 2018 when President Mokgweetsi Masisi took over from his predecessor Lt Gen Ian Khama.
The report states that, “under the previous president, Ian Khama, press freedom declined alarmingly, investigative journalists were arrested, a news website was subjected to a massive cyber-attack and Botswana fell eight places in the World Press Freedom Index from 2013 to 2018. But press freedom violations have declined under his successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, who has at least given frequent press conferences, unlike Khama, who gave none during his ten years as president.”
The index ranks 180 countries according to indicators such as media independence, self-censorship, rule of law and transparency.
When Botswana’s third President, Festus Mogae vacated office in 2018, Reporters Without Borders ranked Botswana 40th out of 180 countries on the annual Press Freedom Index. Khama took over from Mogae, and when he stepped down in 2018, Botswana had dropped to position 48.
According to the latest World Press Freedom Index, released last week Botswana is now ranked 38 out of 180 countries.
The Reporters Without Borders report however states that, “Nonetheless, there is still no law on access to information, which journalists have long been demanding. The state-owned media still fall far short of providing a public news service and continue to be under the government’s sway, to the point that they are now directly supervised from the president’s office. The few privately-owned newspapers depend on advertising that they may or may not receive from the state. Three years after taking office, Masisi has yet to keep his promise to revise draconian laws such as the 2008 Media Practitioners Act, which restricts their freedom to inform, journalists say, and the law on access to information. In fact, the coronavirus pandemic has led to even tougher legislation. Journalists can now be sentenced to up to five years in prison for publishing any information about Covid-19 that has not come from the director of public health services or the WHO. The loss in advertising revenue resulting from the pandemic has also fuelled self-censorship by media trying to keep advertisers. And a decline in income has increased the vulnerability of journalists, making them more likely to take bribes.”
In his first year in office, Masisi saw Botswana jump four places from 48 to 44 on the World Press Freedom rankings on the back of the national optimism following his pledge to improve the country’s press freedom.
“Hopes have been pinned on Mokgweetsi Masisi, who has at least given frequent press conferences since taking office in April 2018, unlike Khama, who gave none during his ten years as president,” stated the 2019 report.
The latest report indicate that Botswana is still climbing up the World Press Freedom rankings albeit at a much slower pace. The report that was released last week indicates that Botswana climbed one spot up from 39 to 38 between 2020 and 2021 which the country’s score increased marginally from 76.44 to 76.75.
