In light of Namibia's recent decline to second place in Africa for press freedom and the upcoming elections, the Ministry of Information, Communications, and Technology has taken action by signing the gazetting of the Access to Information Regulations for publication in the government gazette.
During the 2024 Editor's Forum of Namibia journalism awards, held under the theme "Journalism in the Age of AI and Digital Transformation," ICT Minister Emma Theofelus addressed the issue.
The Access to Information Regulations will establish the office of an Information Commissioner, tasked with promoting and protecting the public's right to access information held by both public and private entities without delay and free of charge.
Under this Act, information holders are accountable to the Information Commissioner, and any refusal to disclose information is subject to internal review, appeal, and judicial review.
However, the Act does not apply to Cabinet proceedings and decisions, the judicial functions of courts, or investigative units established under any law, among others.
"We learned with disappointment, and I speak on behalf of the government, that Namibia has dropped to second place in the press freedom ranking in Africa. As a government, we pride ourselves on being a catalyst for maintaining press freedom in Africa and setting an exemplary standard for the rest of the continent. Following this news, I have instructed my team at the Ministry of ICT to thoroughly analyze the criteria used in this ranking to determine why we fell one position. Our intention is to identify the factors behind this drop and address them accordingly; however, we noted that some incidents cited in the regulatory report occurred more than two years ago."
This year's journalism awards continued under the theme "Journalism in the Age of AI and Digital Transformation."
While AI enhances fact-checking, streamlines the editorial process, and even predicts trending topics, it is ultimately the human journalist who brings integrity, context, and discernment to reporting.
Professor Guy Berger, a media expert, urged journalists to use AI as a tool to support journalism rather than replace the standards that define it.
"If you start using AI to select people for jobs or make judgments in courts, there will be bias involved. You must be cautious because these tools, while smart, are not truly intelligent; they identify patterns in words, images, and large data sets. These data sets are housed in even larger data structures, presenting significant challenges for countries like Namibia and my own."
The overall winners of this year's journalism awards are Freddie Clayton, Sonja Smith, and Margaret Clarke of the Namibian newspaper.