The ||Kharas Regional Council Chairperson, Joseph Isaacks, has reminded the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (nbc) to be objective in its reporting, especially during this period running up to the end of the November Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

He made this call and accused the national broadcaster of partisan coverage and not fully capturing his views when he sometimes shares platforms with government officials.

However, the nbc has rejected the claims made by Isaacks, as they are without factual foundation, adding that the councillor was on the news on Monday.

Isaacks levelled this accusation at a media conference at Keetmanshoop. "I realised that the nbc, for whatever reason, especially in my case that I felt that they are very selective, they exclude those parts that I believe and think need to reach the public domain."

But the nbc Director General, Stanley Similo, does not agree with the assertion and clarified that the nbc does not make news and instead reports fairly and impartially on news. 

The fact that this is an election year, Similo continues, does not change the broadcaster's approach to news coverage.
 
Isaacks further alleged that coverage is accorded to government officials on issues raised at official events by government ministers.

"I also know this is an election year; we are just two months away from the election. And I don't want to implicate the nbc by saying, 'No, you are doing this, so that must stand out in the public domain for the benefit of that person, that group, or that political party'. No, we are not in the business of pettiness, we are not looking for petty issues."

On this, Similo responded as well, saying that the fact that this is an election year does not change the nbc's approach to news coverage. 

He said the public broadcaster is committed to fair, balanced, and objective reporting.