October 12, 2009 – Gaborone. Civil society leaders have said that in Botswana there is no freedom of expression. At the launch of the African Media Barometer (AMB) in Botswana booklet in Gaborone last Friday, the leaders said that people are not free to express themselves.

Botswana Council of Non-Government Organisations (BOCONGO) executive secretary, Reverend Mosweu Simane said that nowadays people are not free to critique government and its leadership. This he said, is borne out of fear that in workshops and conferences, people are afraid those close to the leadership will finger them, something which they say would bring retribution from those in power. He cited an incident in Francistown where they were discussing the National Development Plan 10, whereupon one presenter, who was on the floor presenting a point, which faulted government and all of a sudden “the man panicked, mumbled and later in his discussion changed his subject.  

Later one colleague confided that a certain person, who is known to be close to the leadership, had walked into the conference room as the presenter was on the floor, hence the poor man panicked. That is how bad it is, people are not free to express their views any more,” he said.

MISA director, Thapelo Ndlovu also pointed out that the registration of SIM cards has proved to be a monster especially to civil society leaders and other opinion leaders. He said that there are a lot of cases of trade unionists and some ruling party politicians whose cell phone conversations were being tapped.

Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) secretary general Gadzani Mhotsha said that “we are not free at all. Sometimes when you are talking on your phone, you hear some clicks as if someone is switching on a listening device. It is true that nowadays even in events people are not free to express themselves about the government,” he said.

However, Lifeline Botswana director Maungo Mooki, who was involved in the drafting of the (AMB) booklet, blamed civil society and opposition leaders for the prevailing state of affairs. She said that the civil society is inactive and at it is best reactionary, as it only talks about an issue once it happens “and afterwards you will keep quiet about it. I know that after today you will not pursue this matter any more”.

The AMB, among other things, the draconian Media Practitioners Act, which government intends to use to dictate to the private media how it should operate. It also talks about the government public relations officers, who are “not allowed to speak to the media directly and their only function seems to be the dissemination of approved press releases,” it reads in part.

Radio Free Africa thanks Gina Robbins for locating this story.

It was with great concern that I read about the Liberian Ministry of Information’s actions to deny the printing of “The Bi-Lingual” and “The New Broom”.  Having gained peace after years of civil strife, these actions are contrary to the advancement of civil society.  This demonstrates why Radio Free Africa is needed.

Growing up in Europe from 1974 to 1988, I was able to witness and absorb the plight of millions of Eastern Bloc Europeans living under the iron grip of Soviet inspired totalitarianism.  In fact one of my earliest memories of the consequences of this ideology was viewing programs about life in Eastern Europe that depicted empty shopping markets.  Bare shelves greeted hundreds of shoppers.  Usually, older women, all of them it appeared, dressed by the same tailor.  What a contrast to life in Italy or Switzerland.  Being from Liberia, I was astonished to realize that Europeans also lived in abject poverty.  I did realize however, that the reason for these conditions was manmade.   The citizens of Eastern Europe were subjected to third world status due to the policies of their governments.  Two of those policies were the systematic suppression of free speech and the press.  This policy reached across the Iron Curtain and touched me personally while I was living in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1979, my family re-located from Rome, Italy, to Geneva, Switzerland.  In Geneva, one of the first purchases that my parents acquired was a large Grundig radio and record player combination that was short wave capable.   Standard routine in our household was to keep the radio on nearly twenty-four hours a day tuned to the British Broadcasting Corporation.  Those familiar with the BBC know that at the top of the hour, the station broadcasts an updated news transmission, keeping its listeners apprised of the ongoing news of the day.   In time I started to take note of a recurring event that transpired as the hourly news was being broadcasted.  As the transmission began, it was accompanied by higher than normal interference, sometimes making the broadcast incomprehensible.  I later learned that the interferences were manmade, caused by the Soviet Union.  Diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva had been voicing their displeasure vis à vis this practice by the USSR.   This deliberate attempt at the suppression of the free press and freedom of expression, being extended past the borders of Eastern Europe, paled in comparison to the attack on these institutions in countries such as Poland, Hungary or the Czech Republic.   Radio Free Europe served to counter the effects of the suppression of a free press in countries behind the Iron Curtain by transmitting uncensored news to the citizens of these countries.  I remember reading and hearing about the hope, and the will to act against the status quo, that Radio Free Europe inspired among Eastern Europeans.

Radio Free Africa has the potential to be for Africa that which Radio Free Europe was for Eastern Europe.  Radio Free Africa can inspire, educate and help to empower Africans, not only on the continent, but also those in the Diaspora to take concrete steps into becoming transformative agents.  Time is definitely not on Africa’s side; in fact, Africa is running out of time.  In a few months we will be celebrating the year 2010.  Africa will be celebrating a return to the 1970s as the next generation of dictators prepares to assume power.   We have already seen the preview of this in Niger, Gabon and Mauritania.  Guinea is ripe to continue this legacy.  This is why Radio Free Africa is so crucial at this juncture.  Radio Free Africa can reinforce and help to sustain indigenous and grass roots efforts at self determination in Africa as Radio Free Europe once did in Europe.  As history will judge, attempting to control the free press in Africa will meet the same fate as such actions did behind the Iron Curtain.

Jacien Carr currently lives in the United States and works in finance.  He is a volunteer for Radio Free Africa and can be reached at jacien.carr [at] radiofreeafrica.org

Please see the full article in Al-Jazeera for details.

” I would like everyone to write the following on postcards and send to governments around the world.

Freedom of expression and of thought was not invented by the West. It has existed in traditional societies — even primitive ones — for centuries. Human progress would not have been possible without it. I’m saying this as a black African from Ghana because today around the world, we have “educated” barbarians who want to suppress this freedom by arresting and jailing dissidents, writers, journalists and those they disagree with. In fact, the UN should expel those countries that do not respect Freedom of expression, which is Article 19 of the UN Human Rights charter.

When everyone has written this thought on postcards and sent them, they should also put them on POSTERS and hang them up in market places, in windows, on the sides of buildings everywhere. So that around the world will be the unmistakable visual reminder of the freedom everywhere.”

George Ayittey on the BBC, September 20, 2009

Listen to the audio of George Ayittey on the BBC

BBC 60 Second Idea to Improve the World

Secretary Clinton with Professor Ayittey

George Ayittey

August 1, 2009

Crossposted with “Ghanadot”

Next week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be visiting 7 African countries in 11 days: Cape Verde Islands, Liberia, Nigeria, Congo DR (Goma, in particular), Kenya, South Africa and Angola. Part of the purpose of the trip is to smooth over ruffled feathers. Recall that Kenyans were miffed over the fact the President Obama skipped his fatherland and visited Ghana instead. And Nigerians felt his trip to Ghana was an insidious plot to destabilize their country. So Hillary is being dispatched to soothe frayed nerves and douse the flames. There are also genuine concerns in the Obama administration about Nigeria’s stability and China’s forays into Africa.  

The purpose of the dinner at the State Department was an effort by the Secretary of State, Hillary, to reach out of the bureaucratic cocoon to independent “gurus” and seek alternative viewpoints before her trip to Africa. We were given a set of ques

tions to respond to in order to frame the discussion at the dinner forum and help prepare her for the trip. What she should be looking for, what she should say, how she could be helpful, etc. etc.

The dinner was quite extraordinary. The protocol was stultifying; everything was planned to the minutest detail. Yet the atmosphere was relaxed. There were 26 of us at the dinner table with Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, at the center. Half of the guests were State Dept. operatives — speech writer, policy planner, and a retinue of deputies and assistants — assistant this, assistant that, deputy assistant this, if you know what I mean. The remaining 13 of us where the “experts.” There were only 5 blacks there, including Asst. Sec. of State for Africa, Ambassador Johnnie Carson. I was the only African but, at least, it was a start.

The reason why I was invited was because Brian Phipps, Clinton’s policy planner, had read my book, Africa Unchained two years ago and said it had “a profound influence” on his thinking about Africa. So I asked him if it would be OK to bring two copies of my book — one for Hillary and the other for Obama. He said who would refuse such gracious act of generosity.

I immediately took two copies along. One for Hillary which I autographed as: “I am a big fan of yours. Africans are grateful for your concern for the continent.” Hey, a little fawning adulation never hurt nobody. My students do that to me all the time to get good grades. “I learned a lot from your class,” “You are my greatest teacher,” they often tell me. A quick check of the grades of those praise-singers tell a different story. Rascals.

The other book was for President Obama. I autographed it as: “This wont’ get me a BEER at the White House but we are proud of you as a son of Africa. Don’t mind what the Americans say.” I hope Obama has a sense of humor but don’t try this with President Musugu Babazonga, President-For-Life of the Coconut Republic of Tonga somewhere in the Gulf of Guinea. He is the author of the “Green Book,” which everybody must read. All other books are banned.

I told the group that there was no need to re-invent the wheel and that the West should deal with Africa the way it dealt with the former Soviet Union. There it didn’t form partnerships with communist regimes and hand over money to them on promises of reform. It helped Solidarity movements and established Radio Free Europe. Why not Radio Free Africa? Sec. of State Hillary Clinton said it is a great idea and she likes it.

To the consternation of everyone, I commended Hillary highly and told her I was humbled by her invitation and I wish African governments would reach out and seek alternative viewpoints. Instead, they tossed me into jail, raided my hotel room and even fire-bombed my office in Washington, DC. Hillary was listening attentively.

She is very sharp, witty and a good sport. She is quite warm and open. The dinner lasted for two hours and at the end, I gave her the book and posed for a photo. It is attached.

George Ayittey

Read George Ayittey’s Parody on Obama’s address to Africa

Dr. Ayittey, a native of Ghana, is a Distinguished Economist at American University and President of the Free Africa Foundation, both in Washington, DC. His new book is Africa Unchained (Palgrave/MacMillan).