SECTOR 1 receiving it at the end of their 5 year term. So MPs have access to over 200,000 Maloti (approximately US$23 000) to 300,000 Maloti (approximately US$35 500) after two years in office. The story was in The Sunday Express. When I went into Parliament [during the week] all the MPs called for me to be sent out. There were 80 to 100 faces just looking at me. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament brought it under control and said ‘there is nothing factually wrong about this story so she is not going,’ but l was shaken.” In a separate incident a journalist was shoved and prevented from posing a question to the Master of Ceremonies at an official launch ceremony held in 2011. Earlier that year, the journalist had written a story about an employee of the Highlands Development Authority who had been convicted of fraud, served a very short time of his sentence and was released before his jail term came to an end. “I wanted to ask how somebody is released from prison and immediately gets a top job. I was actually chucked out of the event and after that l started receiving calls and somebody arranged a meeting. At the meeting I was shown an envelope with money in it. l have never seen such money, there was a lot of it. I was told to quit journalism but l didn’t.” There seems to be a difference between print media and electronic media, as broadcast media tends to be freer. Journalists and people are more fearful of expressing themselves in print. The broadcasting media (such as radio) has introduced call in programs, which invite citizens to express themselves freely. Furthermore, the call in programs seems to not only attract people living within Maseru but also people living outside Maseru make use of the programs. It also seems that there are more people who call from outside Maseru. “The only problem with this process is there are so many intra-industry violations of ethics, law and all other parameters. While there is some sense of freedom of expression that is being practiced, it is fraught with other problems.” Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 16 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2012 2.7 (2010 = 2.7; 2008 = 2.8; 2006 = 1.1)