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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action
from 2001 to 2003. APIC was merged into Africa Action in 2001. Please note that many outdated links in this archived
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Africa: Econews Africa
Any links to other sites in this file from 1996 are not clickable,
given the difficulty in maintaining up-to-date links in old files.
However, we hope they may still provide leads for your research.
Africa: Econews Africa
Date Distributed (ymd): 960118
Econews Africa (Selected Articles)
Vol. 4, No. 20, December, 1995
COMMUNITY MEDIA AFFIRMED AS A TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT
Statement by NGO Participants
Media practitioners, NGO representatives and development
experts from more than 15 countries in Eastern and Southern
Africa and beyond met in Nairobi, Kenya from 13-16 November
1995, to formulate strategies for raising awareness about
community broadcasting as well as other community media as
key agents for development and social (improvement) change.
The 4-day meeting was hosted by EcoNews Africa which
coordinates the East African Community radio inititive and
the Kenyan Chapter of the African Council for Communication
and Education (ACCE). The following were the workshop's
aims, to:
* create a regional network of community radio broadcasters
and other community media practitioners
* establish regional and national lobbies for the
liberalisation of the broadcast sector and adoption of
appropriate legislation
* put in place funding and financing mechanisms for setting
up and sustaining the sector that include, but are not
limited, to private sector and donor funding.
At the end of the deliberations and sharing of experiences,
the workshop adopted a concrete Action Plan towards
achieving the above objectives. The gathering affirmed that:
* community media constitute a key agent of development and
social change in Eastern and Southern Africa
* in line with the African Charter on Human and Peoples
Rights, the Universal Declaration Human Rights as well as
internationally-accepted charters that guarantee freedom of
expression, it is the inalienable right of all Africans to
express freely their views.
With these principles in mind, the workshop called upon
governments in Eastern and Southern Africa to:
* recognise the crucial role community media can play in
development of the region's countries and peoples * rapidly
put in place at national and sub-regional levels the
policies and legislation required to promote the growth and
development of an independent and pluralistic media sector
* guarantee that licensing procedures for community radio
are fair and transparent, all-inclusive and free from
political and other interference
* protect the right of community radio practitioners, once
licensed, to operate unhindered.
In particular, the gathering expressed concern at the slow
pace of deliberations into legislation conducive to
independent broadcasting in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana,
Swaziland and other countries of Eastern and Southern Africa
where broadcasting is a state monopoly.
The group called on such governments to shed light on
ongoing policy deliberations, share information with the
potential actors in community media as well the
beneficiaries, and speed up processes already in train to
deregulate broadcasting.
A full report of the Workshop will soon be made available.
We will also publish an analyis of the situation of
community media in the Eastern and Southern Africa in future
issues of EcoNews Africa.
Contact Wangu Mwangi, EcoNews Africa for information on the
full report.
KENYANS LAUNCH COMMUNITY MEDIA NETWORK
A Kenyan Caucus formed during the Community media workshop
for East and Southern Africa announced the formation of the
Kenya Community Media Network, KCOMNET.
KCOMNET attracted Communications, Training and Research
institutions, NGOS involved in community development, other
civil society groups, interested individuals and media
practitioners. KCOMENT will meet its objectives by
networking with members, affiliates, government and
international bodies to ensure that community media
resources are tapped for the benefit of the communities
themselves.
Towards this end, the network outlines the following as its
immediate and pressing objectives.
* To encourage the recognition and use of community-based
media for community participation, not only in the media,
but also in the decision-making process of development. As
Community media thrives best in a legal environment that
allows for pluralistic media, KCOMENT will
* lobby for an enabling legal and policy environment for the
formation and unhindered operation of community media. In
East and Southern Africa, Kenya is among the few countries
that has neither a comprehensive information and
communications policy, nor legal statutes and policies in
support of media pluralism.
To this end, KCOMNET will support policies and legal
processes that recognise and support the development of
community radio stations alongside private, commercial radio
stations and other independent broadcasts.
* It will also lobby for the recognition and development of
community media within a coherent cultural policy in the
country.
* KCOMNET recognises that community media and participatory
media in general, draws heavily on cultural resources within
local communities. Community media thrives when people are
not only the consumers, but also the performers and the
producers. In the absence of a comprehensive cultural
policy, it will be difficult to apportion a role for
community media.
* KCOMNET will undertake specific activities to develop
community media in the country, for instance, through the
production and distribution of programmes.
KCOMNET will respond to the challenge made by the Minister
for Information and Broadcasting at the opening of the
workshop, when he stated that of the 19 television and 32
radio license applications awaiting approval, none is
community-based. The newly formed network is pleased to note
that that the government acknowledges the crucial role
community media can play in the development of Kenyan
people.
Members urged the government to institute processes that
will lead to the development of community media devoid of
economic political and legal bottlenecks. They urged the
government of Kenya to implement the 1991 Kericho proposals
contained in the document "Information Policy for Kenya",
the final draft of which was prepared by UNESCO.
WHO GAINS AND LOSES FROM GLOBALISATION OF THE ECONOMY
By Wagaki Mwangi
There is some euphoria among the small and medium-sized
business sectors in East Africa following market
liberalization. The excitement is particular evident among
young and middle-aged people who have opted to open up small
businesses rather than go into full time employment. This
change has largely been brought about by freeing of the
foreign exchange controls packaged in Structural Adjustment
Programmes.
But as was noted during a consultation between
non-governmental organizations and the United Nations
agency, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development), Sub-Saharan Africa is losing out in the
process of market liberalization and globalization.
Yilmaz Akyuz of UNCTAD defined globalization as the process
through which national markets get integrated. For instance
Kenyan traders are able to access Ugandan and Tanzanian
markets and vice versa. Akyuz, noted that when discussions
on liberalization begun in the mid-1980s, governments
considered the process a good vehicle for all nations to
bring about greater equality. Liberalisation targeted three
areas: trade, capital flows and investment.
It was then argued that liberalization would result in
opening up of trade markets both in the South and in the
North, a move that would accrue economic benefits to
countries such as Africa that depend heavily on commodities.
Additionally, by freeing capital markets, the much-needed
foreign exchange would be available in developing countries
thus reducing the need to borrow. A further advantage to
developing countries would be the stabilisation of local
currencies.
Based on the experiences of South Korea, Taiwan and
Malaysia, removal of non-tax (non-tariff) related barriers
to foreign investors, would be present greater chances for
foreigners to invest in developing countries, which would
then offer better foreign investment returns.
Several participants noted that this has not happened
particularly in sub-saharan Africa as investors are not as
keen on Africa as they are on Asian markets. They tend to
provide manufactures based on cheap labour in the South
which does not guarantee poverty alleviation.
Second, markets for African products have not increased
significantly particularly in commodities where the South is
advantaged and the North is greatly protected. Further where
developed countries can delink the prices of their goods
from developing countries, the South cannot delink prices of
its goods from the Northern market.
Akyuz noted that the only sector in which growth is noted is
in capital flows. But these have also resulted in other
problems. Increased financial mobility has resulted in
increased financial instability as fiscal trade is
increasingly based on speculation. This explains why
commercial banks in most countries have fluctuating interest
rates, which increases risk of taking loans from such
institutions a high risk for the local person.
Another associated problem is that the liberalization of
local fiscal markets makes the market vulnerable to changes
and shocks. For example, the impact of activities at
Barrings Bank in Singapore and more recently, the Japanese
Daiwa Bank in the US, had an impact on capital markets all
around the world.
Another constraint is that although trade in finances has
had its returns, it does not require infrastructural
investment in developing countries. Besides, the rate in
fiscal industry is high and many African countries lack the
necessary tools to regulate it or even reap substantial
benefits. Akyuz summed his observations by noting that the
gains from liberalization has mainly proceeded in high skill
intensive manufactures, financial and service sectors, where
the developed countries have a comparative advantage.
[article to be continued in next issue of Econews Africa]
CREDITS
EcoNews Africa is an NGO initiative that analyses global
environment and development issues from an African
perspective and reports on local, national, and regional
activities that contribute to global solutions.
EcoNews Africa is a joint project of the Africa Water
Network (AWN), Climate Network Africa (CNA), the Environment
Liaison Center International (ELCI) and the International
Outreach Program of KENGO. It is supported by the Humanistic
Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (HIVOS)
and NGONET based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Editing and
production of this issue: Susan Odede, Wagaki Mwangi, Wangu
Mwangi, Samuel Mutinda and Mercy Wambui. Thanks to Miles
Goldstick for assistance on the EcoNews World Wide Web site.
The views expressed in the features do not necessarily
reflect those of EcoNews Africa or of its member
organizations and donors. Reproduction of the material
contained in the "features" is encouraged with
acknowledgement of source.
Postal Address: EcoNews Africa, P.O. Box 76406, Nairobi,
Kenya. Visitors: 1st Floor, No. 27 Uchumi Road, Off Ole
Shapara Avenue, Nairobi South "C". Tel. +254-2-605127. Fax.
+254-2-604682.
Email addresses: [email protected] OR
[email protected] OR [email protected]
EcoNews Africa is also available on electronic conference at
[email protected] and locally at
[email protected]. It is available on the
following URL on the World Wide Web: www:
http:/www.web.apc.org/~econews/
************************************************************
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States
around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by
concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant
information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and
individuals. APIC is affiliated with the Washington Office on
Africa (WOA), a not-for-profit church, trade union and civil
rights group supported organization that works with Congress
on Africa-related legislation.
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