Movt recruits media cadres By Halima Abdallah WEEKLY OBSERVER As the battle for political supremacy in the run up to the 2006 general elections and transition intensifies, the Movement has drawn up a plan to win the media to its side.
The plan outlines strategies to reach out to journalists and media house owners (both print and electronic) to get them to disseminate pro-Movement information. The move has been inspired by the growing sense in the Movement camp that anti- third term politicians are having an upper hand in the media. A Movement information committee chaired by the minister of state for Information, Dr James Nsaba Buturo, identified two big challenges; how to counter negative publicity generated by the opposition, and how to manage information in a way that enhances and maintains the Movement�s reputation and trust among the people. The committee then came up with a document titled, �Rebuilding our Communication: Strategy, Forces and Resources in the new Democratic Era.� The strategy aims �to ensure that Movement supporters and allies around the country, especially Members of Parliament, speak authoritatively in public without fear of being heckled.� The committee has 16 government officials from various departments. Though he denied knowledge of the document, the Special Presidential Assistant on Research/Information, Frank Tumwebaze, said there is an initiative by the department of Information in the President�s Office to coordinate information dissemination. �I am a member of a committee in the ministry of Information that aims at improving the correct flow of information,� Mr. Tumwebaze said. Movement spokesman, Ofwono Opondo, said he was not aware of the document, but has no qualms associating himself with its goals. �Although I don�t know about that plan, there is nothing wrong with the government going to the media and reaching out to the population to beef up its information network,� he said. �It would be so stupid for the government not to have a communication strategy,� he added. In the document, each of the 16 members is assigned specific duties and allocated a budget estimate. Nsaba Buturo is the committee coordinator/chairman. He will speak for the government, cultivate friendship with owners of media houses and editors, oversee logistics, persuade ministers to appear on radio and TV, and participate in print media debates. Hope Mwesigye, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, will offer legal guidance and coordinate Movement MPs to always speak to journalists. l Charles Bakabulindi (Movement Caucus chairman) will assist her. Moses Byaruhanga (presidential assistant) is specifically charged with monitoring The Monitor and New Vision, as well as coordinating ebimeeza debates. Gertrude Njuba is to handle Luganda talk shows while giving a historical perspective of the NRM. l Fred Bamwine and Frank Mwebaze are charged with monitoring radio stations in Kampala and upcountry. l Alice Kaboyo shall coordinate the youth and deploy Movement cadres on FM radios. Ofwono Opondo shall defend the Movement on Capital FM�s Capital Gang and also use his influence as a journalist to get allies within The Monitor and New Vision. Onapito Ekomoloit shall link editors to minister Nsaba Buturo. Mary K. Okurut shall handle the President�s public relations. Shaban Bantariza (army spokesman) shall speak for the army and avail security information to the members. Assuman Mugenyi (police spokesman) shall speak for the police, as well as liase with Fox Odoi (also a member) and the Director of CID, Ms Elizabeth Kutesa, to take legal action against people who breach the law through politicking. Odoi is also charged with initiating legal action against people who abuse the person of the President. Alice Muwanguzi shall feed the team with information about the programmes of the Movement Secretariat, participate in talk shows and monitor Kampala City Council activities. Aisha Kabanda shall also participate in talk shows while updating the committee on unfulfilled presidential pledges. The members are to make a monthly report on their progress and challenges. They shall also give financial accountability over that period. Up to Shs 30 million has been set aside to facilitate the members in their various tasks. The money is to set up contacts in radio stations and recruit covert agents in media houses (Shs 5m). Airtime for radio monitors (Shs 10m); accommodation and meals while upcountry (Shs 1m); fuel (Shs 5m); facilitation (Shs 5m) and task force maintenance for stationery, airtime, phones and computers (Shs 1m). According to the document, a secret website and email network only known to the committee members are to be created to ease communication.The team plans to deliver only written messages to avoid inaccuracies and to follow current affairs in the media closely. At the same time, they plan to organise public debates and dialogue. For a closer friendship with the media, the team plans to arrange regular off- the-record dialogue with journalists, editors, business community and student leaders, and occasionally help them get their message across the media outlets. The American embassy in Kampala has recently expressed fear that the media, especially the newspapers, shall come under increasing pressure and intimidation from the government in the run-up to the transition from the Movement to multiparty politics and presidential elections in 2006. Already the government is said to have recruited some journalists to spy on their own newsrooms and organisations. And the new Movement plan for the media has the potential to compromise journalists. However, Ofwono, formerly a journalist at New Vision, is undeterred. �I don�t think it is [compromising]. I want to see a good relationship between the media and government. I make sure I don�t obstruct access to information and ensure objectivity on the part of the media. It remains independent,� Ofwono said. He added that it is the duty of the journalists to ensure that they are not compromised. The Movement woos supporters through persuasion, so those who reject being its allies will not be harmed, Ofwono stressed. To him the plan has nothing to do with the 2006 elections. Lira Municipality MP, Cecilia Ogwal, said the move would not make any significant impact. She, however, appealed to the media to resist the temptation to be compromised by the state, or risk extinction. Ogwal said the media are allies of the opposition. �Media and political parties are from the same placenta. The opposition cannot exist without the media,� Ogwal said. 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