Self-Regulation? No, It’s a Test Rwanda Media is Not Ready for

Gaaki Kigambo

12 June 2011

Nairobi — In March, the Rwanda Cabinet did the unexpected when it gave the media free rein to regulate itself.

Most of the primary work required to effect this transition is complete says Arthur Asiimwe, the board chair of the regulatory body, the Media High Council and a former managing editor of Rwanda’s only daily newspaper The New Times.

The draft changes needed in the law to sanction the new order will soon be tabled in parliament for the Council to pass on the responsibilities it has shouldered for eight years to a body that is yet to be named by end of this month — a tight deadline they hope sends a clear message about their commitment to let go.

While this is a noble move, it is important to note that self-regulation is going to lay bare the media’s myriad vulnerabilities.

Interestingly though, since cabinet announced its decision, there has been little if any debate among media practitioners what self-regulation might or should mean in a country where the state has had a firm grip on the sector.

Nobody seems bothered about whether the government intends to withdraw completely or if it will keep one leg in as is the case in Kenya and Tanzania.

There have been suggestions that this might turn out to be the case. Media practitioners on the other hand have not come out clearly on exactly what form the new regime should take, leaving the responsibility of working out the finer details to the Council and the Information Ministry.

Instead, media practitioners are concentrating their efforts on splitting up into various factions and fighting over who should head the new body. These squabbles reveal a disunity that poses the greatest challenge to self-regulation.

Christopher Kayumba, a media researcher terms unity and fraternity as, “critical ingredients in the defence of media freedom and promotion of ethical practices in journalism. Even successful self-regulation is based on a united journalistic voice against media repression at the same time promoting and defending ethical conduct.”

Dr Kayumba has written to the media reform committee tasked with coming up with the details of self-regulation, suggesting ways in which media professionals can reposition to better regulate the industry. The committee comprises representatives from training institutions, media associations as well as private and public media.

In the paper, which partly assesses the media landscape, not only do the weaknesses of the Association of Rwanda Journalists and The Press House — the two largest media associations that can easily reposition into the new regulatory body — outweigh their strengths, the structure, Kayumba recommends, would require highly experienced and skilled people to set it up and manage.

Heading regulatory body

Speaking to The EastAfrican, Dr Kayumba said: “There are just a few well respected, successful and independent minded editors and journalists to move self-regulation forward.”

Mr Asiimwe couldn’t agree more. “Our biggest concern is the capacity of the media to handle obligations that come with self-regulation. There are few people who understand the ethics of the profession, and fewer who command enough respect to chair the body,” he said. This former Reuters correspondent would have preferred that the committee identifies a respected retired judge or bishop to head the regulatory body and be assisted by a technical team with media experience.

Unlike other key areas like security, tourism and public works on which the Rwanda recovery story rotates, the media has not quite recovered from the 1994 genocide, in which it stands accused of fuelling the killings. Indeed, most of its experienced people, like any other sector, either died in the genocide or went into exile.

But while these other areas are attractive employment destinations, there are hardly any mass communication graduates to be absorbed into the media. Many communication students prefer joining public relations agencies or communication departments of organisations where working conditions are less strenuous and the remuneration is incomparable to what many media outlets offer.

Critics say that while self-regulation is good it has been rushed. This has led to speculation that the government is under intense pressure from the donor community to free the media, even though it denies this.

Last year, for example, the UK’s Department for International Development said it would, this financial year, stop supporting a UN-led programme involving six oversight institutions, one of which is the Media High Council. The announcement came on the heels of the suspension of two weekly newspapers — Umuseso and Umuvugizi — which are widely perceived to be critical of government.

“Our worry is that self regulation will flop because not all media support the Association of Rwanda Journalists,” said a former editor with a private media outlet who requested that his name remains undisclosed. “There’s going to be bitter infighting between the different media factions.”

Another editor who also requested anonymity said: “The media is not ready; It’s like learning to swim from the deep end. I think there are more pressing needs other than regulation. Are you going to regulate what barely exists?”

According to him, the media in Rwanda is “at the infant stages of development; things like the business aspect and what it means to run a media organisation are fundamental. We spend too much time on laws and forget our key responsibilities. Our content is wanting; our business models are weak. Our audiences deserve more. That’s what is priority to me.”

Admittedly, Mr Asiimwe says it is difficult to imagine how a media that regulates itself in Rwanda might look like. “It is going to be tough because there are few trained journalists and fewer veterans to act as role models.”

Although he does not rule out the possibility that self-regulation might be abused, he says assertively, that the government will not go back on its decision. “We are giving them the benefit of doubt but it’s definitely a huge challenge.”

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