albeit limited by considerations of national security, public safety, public order and the individuals’ right to privacy and so on. Historically, the Botswana government has dominated the country’s media sector and this uncongenial trend continues to hold. In 2008, there were many instances of government interference and manipulation of state media. A presenter on the national radio station, Radio Botswana, was forced to bring to an end his morning show on November 17, 2008 on instructions from the station director, Mogomotsi Kaboyamodimo. The programme was discussing the suspension of a ruling party Member of Parliament who had questioned actions of the ruling party and the president regarding the appointment of military persons to civil service roles. In a desperate move to get public sympathy and win the liquor war, the Office of the president ordered the state media to broadcast emphasising the negative effects of alcohol. The directive ordered the state media, both electronic and print, to depict alcohol as socially unacceptable and destructive to society. This was done against the backdrop of a court case against the government launched by beer brewing, distribution and retail companies challenging as illegal the president’s alcohol restriction campaign. The state-controlled media, both print and electronic, remains dominant. The governmentcontrolled weekday newspaper, the Daily News, which features largely government news and announcements, is distributed free of charge and competes unfairly with independent media by selling advertising space. The government planners are still reluctant to acknowledge the independent press as a viable employment-generation enterprise. As a consequence of the government’s railroading of the Media Practitioners Act, the tenuous relations between the government and the media have reached a very low ebb. The president’s reluctance to meet the media in an open press conference and the government’s proclivity to enact legislation that serves to suppress press freedom continue to undermine government-media relations. This is exacerbated by the fact that Botswana does not have an Access to Information Act that could address issues of news ‘black-outs’ that in most cases frustrate not only media practitioners but also legislators. The level of secrecy exercised by government agencies continues to be a major stumbling block to transparency in public affairs. It undercuts the healthy flow of information and denigrates citizens’ right to know about the operations of public institutions that shape their lives. Broadcasting The government delay in formulating a national broadcasting policy that facilitates the use of radio and the development of community radio is a challenge to the expansion and diversification of broadcasting media. Legislative constraints, bureaucratic bungling, and vague procedures impede the broadcasting media in Botswana. State-controlled Radio Botswana was issued with a licence as a public broadcaster in December 2004. By the end of 2008 Radio Botswana had still not made the necessary transformation into a public broadcaster. As such, the broadcasting environment remains unevenly skewed in favour of government control and dominance of the airwaves. Media diversity In recent years, there has been a proliferation of newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, transnational satellite television networks, publishing houses and printing presses in Botswana. Some of the media establishments, however, have since closed shop due to financial constraints. So This Is Democracy? 2008 -17- Media Institute of Southern Africa