State of the media in Southern Africa - 2003 In July 2003, The Botswana Gazette, another independent weekly, was slapped with a demand for payment of Pula 10 000 000 (Ten million Pula) in damages for publishing a story that quoted the Vice-President of the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM), an employer’s organisation, in which he allegedly cited problems faced by citizen owned construction companies in relation to tenders for government jobs. Mr. Modise allegedly attributed the problem to the prevalence of Chinese companies and further alleged that Chinese companies found favour with government because of their below market rates. He is also alleged to have accused the Botswana Government of supporting corruption by awarding tenders to Chinese construction companies when most of them, it was alleged, had been found guilty of bribery. The Botswana Gazette refused to apologise but the matter was settled after the intervention of the Chinese Embassy in Gaborone at the instance of BOCCIM and the Chinese companies, where it was felt that litigation was not good for Sino-Botswana relations. MISA Botswana issued a statement expressing concern regarding rushing to the courts for financial settlements and suggested that the parties work through the new Press Council of Botswana in such cases. The large sums of money in question, whether ordered by a court after trial or arising from settlement agreements, are significant enough to produce a chilling effect on the effective discharge of the responsibilities of the private media. This is cause for concern for the restricting effect it has on press freedoms. So This Is Democracy? 2003 25 Media Institute of Southern Africa