violated the Code of Ethics, due process should be undertaken benchmarked on the principles of a fair hearing. The Bill also provides for the appointment of the Executive Director, to be appointed with the approval of the Board who shall be on a fixed contract of not more than five (5) years and eligible for appointment to a second term of not more than five (5) years as well. A Secretary of the Board will also be appointed, being a person suitably qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in the courts of Botswana. The Board itself shall consist of nine members, elected at an annual general meeting of the association for a period not exceeding three years and shall include: • A chairperson. • A vice chairperson. • One person from Botswana Editors Forum. • One person from Botswana Press Council. • One person from Media Institute of Southern Africa-Botswana Chapter. • One person from Botswana Media and Allied Workers Union. • A legal practitioner who is a member of the Law Society of Botswana. • One person from a public university who teaches journalism, media and information studies. • One person from a private university who teaches journalism, media and information studies. Of note also is Clause 26 (4) which criminalises the failure by a member of the Board to disclose a conflict of interest, making such person liable to a fine of P5000,00 or one year imprisonment or both. It is important to minimise on the criminalisation particularly the possible threat of imprisonment. This clause should elaborate on several other mechanisms that can be utilised including a disciplinary hearing, suspension or dismissal from the Board should a member be found to have not disclosed a conflict of interest. The Association shall have funds from members’ voluntary contributions, fees and other monies paid for services rendered by the Association, income that the Association may receive from rentals or sale of its property, grants, gifts or donations from organisations. The Association shall be expected to produce financial statements and engage auditors, approved by the Board. The auditors’ report and audited accounts shall be presented by the Board at an ordinary general meeting. Clause 35 then goes on to establish a Media Fund, and notes that they shall be paid into the Fund, such money, as may from time to time be received from the above sources. The Board will be responsible for the administration of the Fund. The establishment of a Fund is a progressive idea; however, the law is not clear with regards to the purposes for which the Fund will be used. Such a Fund is important for the sustainability of the media industry which has been negatively impacted by the decline in advertising revenue due to the increased uptake of digital marketing and technology, loss of revenue due to COVID 19 pandemic and decline in demand, among others. In that regard, the Bill should elaborate on the purposes for which the Fund shall be used as well as the potential beneficiaries of such a Fund. Further, the law should provide a clear percentage or amount which shall be set aside to be deposited into the Media Fund from the various sources of funds for the Association. This provision is thus vague in that it just makes reference to ‘such money’ ‘from time to time’ without clarity on the specific timelines within which some funds should be invested into the fund for example on a quarterly basis. Such clarity could also include setting an obligation that a certain percentage of the funds received by the Association from its various sources as stipulated in Clause 30. On the definition of a journalist, the interpretation section left it open to interpretation by the Association. Part VIII of the law on registration of journalists, and more specifically, Clause 37 indicates that a person shall apply to be registered with a professional body using the prescribed form and upon payment of a prescribed fee if they are an employee of a media enterprise, the membership of which is recognised by the professional body as furnishing a sufficient guarantee of the recognised academic knowledge and practical experience in journalism. Another category would be that the person has taken an oath as may be prescribed to uphold, respect and adhere to the Code of Ethics or that in the opinion of the professional body, that person is a fit and proper person to be registered as a journalist. In light of this, the interpretation section should be amended to elaborate the aspects laid out in Clause 37 as they already define the person who qualifies as a journalist or can be defined to be a journalist. Be that as it may be, it should be noted that the entire Part VIII needs to be amended as it focuses on registration to a professional body and not Analysis of the Botswana Media Practitioners’ Association Bill, 2022 4