CREATE STIMULUS PACKAGE FOR MEDIA, GOVT URGED

GOVERNMENT

should come up with a stimulus package for media houses to counter the Covid-19 negative impact on business, Young African Leaders Initiative ( YALI) has said.

The organisation observed that the media are key partners in national development and should be considered by government for help during these trying times.

YALI president, Andrew Ntewewe said it was important for the government to think about the media as they formulate policies on stimulus packages for key sectors of the economy.

Mr. Ntewewe said in an interview that most media houses would not survive without a bailout and this would have a huge impact on democracy which he said thrives on freedom of expression.

He said if the media which is the mouth piece of freedom of expression is destroyed by the effects of Covid-19, the fundamental rights such as freedom of expression would suffer because the public would be starved of information.

"The biggest danger of closure of most of the media houses due to Covid-19 is that the public will be starved of information and you want to understand that democracy thrives on sharing of information, that democracy thrives on freedom of expression," he said.

He urged the government to think broadly on the issue of the stimulus package and include the media especially as the country heads towards the 2021 general elections.

Mr. Ntewewe said the media has had challenges over the years and these have become worse with the outbreak of Covid-19.

He highlighted high taxation and the high cost of publishing newspapers for print media as some of the challenges faced by the media houses.