Media can transform Africa- Kabushenga

By Patrick Jaramogi 

Africa can only be heard if it speaks in one voice, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has said. He made the remarks at the opening of this year’s Africa Leaders Forum in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Speaking after a barrage of attacks on Ethiopia’s media track record, Desalegn said the media censorship in Ethiopia was necessary for good democratic governance. “We need to stand out as Africa and be heard. We should not allow western media to report negatively about what Africans do. But we can only do this if we speak in one voice,” he said.

He urged Africa to build its own independent vibrant media house to air out issues that affect Africans. 

Trevor Ncube the Africa Media Institute (AMI) chairperson said journalists should be taken as partners of development. “Journalists are not enemies. Societies where the media are allowed to operate freely is considered a good sign of good democratic principle,” he said. 

He urged the Ethiopian government to stop gagging the press and demanded the release of journalists under detention.

Vision Group CEO Robert Kabushenga urged the west to desist from “telling” African media what to report about. “It is like preaching to the converted. We spend most of the time quarrelling instead of solving problems that affect us,” said Kabushenga.

Kabushenga, one of the panelists in the public debate, said African media has the mandate to transform the continent.

He stressed the need for revolutionising African media houses through digital migration and innovation.