Ugandan Prime Minister Says the Government Believes in Freedom of the Press; Really?

Posted by Flattau Associates Staff on 10 February 2012 | 2 Comments

Tags: Uganda, democracy data, democracy statisitcs, democracy dataset, DMQ, press freedom, media freedom

In an article printed in today's issue of The New Vision, a Ugandan daily newspaper, the Prime Minister of Uganda, Amama Mbabazi, stated that the government believes in freedom of the press: "'Government believes in the freedom of media, and if there is any place where media is free, it is here in Uganda,' Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has said. Mbabazi explained that there is no way 'we can attack media freedom' because as government, media is one of the vested tools 'we can rely on to transform this country.' The premier was speaking at a dialogue between parliamentary reporters and ministers held at Serena Hotel Kampala on Thursday. He highlighted the co-existence of the government and media, explaining that the two are partners who need each other and need to work hand in hand towards the development of the country. 'That is why we need to improve out interactions with the media, mostly on dissemination of information on government programs' said Mbabazi."

While Mbabazi's belief that the government and the media are "partners who need each other" is laudable, the scores from our latest Democracy Monitor Quarterly (DMQ) Uganda issue, show that the Prime Minister is mistaken when it comes to the level of media independence (Figure 4I) and press freedom (Figure 4L) in the country. A few things to keep in mind when looking at these graphics:

• Media Independence (In Practice) is the degree to which existing media outlets have the ability operate without restriction or interference from the government.

• Freedom of the Press (In Practice) is the degree to which members of the media can cover and report on events that question the authority or actions of the Chief of State and his or her party without restriction or interference from the government.

• Democracy Monitor Quarterly rates strength of democracy in countries on a 0 to 10 scale, with 0 representing weak, 5 representing moderate, and 10 representing strong.

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