Page 20 - OSISA Annual Report 2015-2018

hidden debt. With limited access to information for citizens to hold leaders accountable, participate in and contribute to development. Our support to the Institute for Multiparty Democracy project on citizen engagement played an essential role in amplifying civil society voices in peace negotiations and calls for reforms.
Media and access to information
Supporting independent and investigative journalism
In 2017 the Democracy Governance Cluster strengthened support to initiatives that sought to promote independent journalism by leveraging online platforms and pushing for democratic governance of the internet. In collaboration with OSF Programme for Independent Journalism (PIJ), the media programme hosted a regional workshop to enhance online media start-ups’ capacity to monetise the digital space for their sustainability. OSISA and PIJ have received several proposals from organisations and individual journalists seeking financial support for their nascent online media platforms. While these initiatives are in line with OSISA’s strategic objective of promoting access to information through alternative platforms, they must be sustainable to avoid donor dependence and safeguarding their independence. About 24 journalists from southern Africa with online news sites participated in the workshop that focussed on expanding and reaching audiences, developing online sustainability models and positioning the start-ups as critical information sources. Participants were drawn from Botswana, the DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Some of the start-ups, such as the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE) and NewsDiggers, which receive grants from OSISA, prove to be success stories as they have become outlets of critical alternative voices.
In the period under review, the MNN Investigative Centre in Lesotho continued to entrench its public interest mandate by promoting independent journalism, up-skilling journalists with tools and techniques of investigative journalism and collaborating with like-minded journalists in the country and in the region, as well as advocating for freedom of the press.
One of the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism’s highlights in Lesotho is their production of a special report on human trafficking. This report is composed of thirteen stories on human trafficking, forced labour and child marriages. The stories cover Basotho related incidents that occurred in both Lesotho and South Africa.
Of interest is the Lesotho Senate’s request for the Centre’s contribution on the topic: “Parliamentary Agenda for Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery in Africa and Promotion of Human Rights”. Senate’s President Mamonaheng Mokitimi approached the Centre to contribute to the presentation by documenting researched stories on human trafficking and modern slavery in Lesotho.
The INK Centre for Investigative Journalism in Botswana collaborated with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on the second instalment of the Panama Papers, which revealed that a Botswana firm ignored previous outrage about working with law firm Mossack Fonseca to hide millions of dollars in offshore accounts. Two important stories were published and received good feedback from the public.
The focal point in this reporting period was a major investigative journalism piece on how a British company benefited chunks of land from the colonial government in North Eastern Botswana. The story was published by Mail and Guardian Online, Amabhungane, and two local newspapers, Sunday Standard and Patriot on Sunday. The story performed exceptionally well on several platforms, particularly on radio and online platforms and equipped the public, for the first time, with information of how the land has been distributed in the north-eastern part of Botswana. A top lawyer, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae and other civic groups are mobilising to initiate a civil suit against the government and the land beneficiary, a British firm, Tati Company. It is this level of public engagement which highlights the importance of investigative stories.
For our centres, it’s this type of engagement, with citizens and state alike, that is needed to create an impact on published investigative stories. Plans include equipping the Centres with more capacity to engage wider audiences and work with civil society for sustained advocacy.
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OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA – 2017 REPORT