Lawmakers\nhave raised concern over what they have termed \u201cdeteriorating\u201d media freedom in\nthe country, saying that this impacts negatively on the tourism sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition\nChief Whip, Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda said that Uganda is now been ranked\n125 out of 180 in media freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nhave been moving from 101 to 117. We are now belonging to category four as\ncategorized by Reporters Without Borders,\u201d said Ssemujju Nganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reporters\nwithout borders is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization\nbased in Paris that conducts political advocacy on issues relating to freedom\nof information and freedom of the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nattributed the decline to tax on social media, arrests and beating of\njournalists covering demonstrations and most recently switching off of radio\nstations hosting opposition leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo\nmake matters worse, as we approach the World Press Freedom Day, the Director of\nUganda Communications Commission (UCC) has issued a draconian directive\nordering 13 radio stations to suspend senior journalists for covering Hon.\nRobert Kyagulanyi,\u201d said Ssemujju Nganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nnoted that such incidences have a negative bearing on the tourism sector\nbecause they taint the image of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\ncan only promote tourism by marketing a country repeatedly, but the moment you\nhave negative coverage, even if you market your country, people who want to\nvisit will keep checking websites to see which country is safe,\u201d Ssemujju\nNganda added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nasked government to reverse a directive to suspend senior journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe\nMinister of Internal Affairs should put sanctions against individual actors\ntainting the image of the country,\u201d Ssemujju Nganda said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nMuhammad Nsereko (Ind. Kampala Central) advised government to engage in\nnegotiations with those media houses accused of breaching broadcasting\nstandards, as opposed to resorting to suspending journalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUganda\nrelies largely on tourism and scenarios like seeing opposition leaders being\ndragged out of radio stations and teargassed are not good for the country\u2019s\nimage. We all need Uganda and together, we can make it better,\u201d said Nsereko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nJack Wamai Wamanga (FDC, Mbale Municipality) cautioned that the whole world is\nfollowing what is happening in Uganda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUganda\nis being condemned and tourists are not coming to the country,\u201d said Wamai\nWamanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nMinister of State for Housing, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi gave assurance that\ngovernment is committed to promoting media freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nhave seen one of the letters from UCC to NBS television and UCC is saying they\nhave breached some of the broadcasting standards. One of the remedies available\nfor such institutions could be challenging such directives,\u201d said Baryomunsi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nalso refuted allegations from MPs, Hon. Francis Mwijukye (FDC, Buhweju county)\nand Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi Muhammad (DP, Butambala County) that government has\nbanned opposition leaders from appearing on broadcast media houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\nkind of directive has not been issued by government. Any other opposition\nleader has not been banned from appearing on public media. I own a radio\nstation in Kanungu and I have not received any directive,\u201d said Baryomunsi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The media has been awash with reports of unfair treatment of opposition leaders, Dr Kiiza Besigye and Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi. It is reported that these leaders have been denied opportunities to appear on talk shows in different media houses, with directives from UCC to suspend journalists who host such leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parliamentary News<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lawmakers have raised concern over what they have termed \u201cdeteriorating\u201d media freedom in the country, saying that this impacts negatively on the tourism sector. Opposition Chief Whip, Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda said that Uganda is now been ranked 125 out of 180 in media freedom. \u201cWe have been moving from 101 to 117. We are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":9341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-9340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n