About the MSI
[7]
IREX designed the MSI to measure the strength and viability of any country's media sector. The MSI considers all the factors that contribute to a media system—the quality of journalism, effectiveness of management, the legal environment supporting freedom of the press, and more—to arrive at scores on a scale ranging between 0 and 4. These scores represent the strength of the media sector components and can be analyzed over time to chart progress (or regression) within a country. Additionally, countries or regions may be compared to one another. IREX currently conducts the MSI in 80 countries, and began studying Africa in 2006.
MSI Overview [8] | Africa [9] | Asia [10] | Europe & Eurasia [11] | Middle East & North Africa [12]
MSI Methodology [13]
Download Complete Botswana Chapter (PDF): 2012 [14] | 2010 [15] | 2009 [16] | 2008 [17] | 2006/7 [18]
MSI Botswana-2012 Introduction
Overall Country Score: 2.02
Botswana has received accolades throughout the country’s history for its democratic credentials and has been dubbed the shining example of democracy in Africa. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has had an overwhelming majority since the country’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. However, as more African countries attained independence, Botswana’s democracy proved to be less progressive. Academics have described Botswana as a “minimalist democracy” and not a participatory democracy because, apart from holding elections every five years, the country has failed to enact laws that empower the citizenry to have a more active and meaningful role in the running of their country.
An example of this deficiency is the absence of freedom-of-information legislation in the country. Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration Mokgweetsi Masisi, who is responsible for media in Botswana’s government, stated at a July 2012 sitting of parliament, “A freedom-of-information law should be more about what should be kept secret than revealed.” This position, indicative of secrecy in government, has led people to lose confidence in the government’s decisions. In addition, as reported by The Botswana Gazette in April 2011, there appears to have been a rise in corruption of late, with a number of ministers having faced corruption charges in 2011 and 2012.
During the same July parliamentary sitting, the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) Bill, a bill that was widely viewed as regressive, was rushed through parliament and is awaiting the president’s signature. It repeals the Broadcasting Act of 1998, with its three-tier system of broadcasting (public-service broadcasting, private-service broadcasting, and community-service broadcasting), while the new piece of legislation talks only about state media and commercial media. As reported by The Sunday Standard in August 2012, civil-society groups in Botswana criticized the move to revert to state media as a clear attempt by the state to tighten its grip on this national asset and turn it into a propaganda tool.
The MSI panelists generally felt that the Botswana media space is under threat and that the government seems determined to reverse gains the country has made over the years. Supporting institutions are having mixed success pushing back against these efforts. Despite this rather gloomy picture, freedom of speech is broadly guaranteed in Botswana, particularly thanks to the private media, which ensures the availability of a steady stream of news sources and viewpoints, at least in the major urban centers.
The Botswana study was coordinated by, and conducted in partnership with, the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.