President Yoweri Museveni has expressed concern over the impact of irresponsible media coverage on Uganda’s development and reputation.
The President made the remarks while meeting government communicators at the National Leadership Institute [NALI] in Kyankwanzi days ago.
The group was led by Odrek Rwabwogo, the Chairperson of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development [PACEID].
Museveni condemned some media houses for distorting facts and creating harmful narratives, highlighting an incident in 1989 to illustrate his point. At that time, he was working to commercialise milk production in the cattle corridor. He noted that the move aimed to integrate traditional pastoralists into the money economy by promoting milk production.
“From 1989, we started acquiring Friesian cows and quickly produced a lot of milk. However, because the volumes were large, prices dropped. We needed to broaden milk products beyond liquid milk, so I sought investors to produce powdered milk, cheese, butter, and other products,” said Museveni.
Museveni also stressed that such irresponsible journalism can have long-term detrimental effects on the economy. “This irresponsibility is very dangerous. I fully support forming a committee to address this issue,” he stated.
Rwabwogo, speaking about media-related challenges, said that over the past 18 months, efforts had been made to improve Uganda’s international image through various media engagements. Despite these efforts, he said, local media often undermine the positive image being built.
“Only 12 percent of the citizens are positive about the government and 78 percent of online messages are negative perceptions about Uganda, this is bad. For example, there was a headline in the last few months saying, “Uganda supplies condoms instead of sanitary pads”. This totally harms our image,” noted Rwabwogo.
He called for the implementation of directives to centralise government communications, ensuring that actions in one sector do not negatively affect the overall market and reputation.
He proposed robust daily research, immediate responses to negative news, and sensitising public sector officials on the damage caused by irresponsible reporting.
“We need to coach cabinet members in international communication practices and extend this training to local governments. We are not against reporting issues, but it’s crucial how and where they are reported. Publishing everything inside our ‘kitchen’ can be dangerous,” he said.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to have monthly discussions in the cabinet about Uganda’s global perception and strategies to improve it.
“We are looking for a unified communication strategy to protect and promote our country. Investors get tired and move away if we don’t act quickly,” Rwabwogo added.
Still, Museveni emphasised the need for order and discipline in media reporting to safeguard Uganda’s economic progress and democratic values.
The meeting was also attended by Col. Edith Nakalema, head of the State House Investors Protection Unit; Marcella Karekye, Special Presidential Assistant in charge of Communications and Director of the Government Citizen Interaction Centre [GCIC]; Assistant Commissioner of Police Kituuma Rusoke, Public Relations Officer of the Uganda Police Force.
Others included: Ofwono Opondo, Executive Director of Uganda Media Centre; Sandor Walusimbi, Senior Press Secretary to President Museveni; Amos Wekesa, the proprietor of Great Lakes Safaris, and Emmanuel Ainebyoona, Senior Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Health, among others.
