The previous government under president Mokgweetsi Masisi deserves some credit for keeping its promise to repeal the Media Practitioners Act (MPA) which it then replaced with the Media Practitioners Association Act.
The MPA, a creation of Ian Khama’s government was an ill tempered law. Its sole aim was to control the media through the minister responsible for communications.
That law gave the minister the ultimate authority to decide who could practice as a journalist in Botswana. To their credit the media lobbied all interested parties to frustrate the law. It was a protracted battle. But it paid off.
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