Mohalenyane Phakela
THE Prime Minister’s Press Attaché, Thabo Thakalekoala, has called on government departments to cooperate with the media by providing them with information they need to effectively discharge their mandate of informing the nation.
Mr Thakalekoala made the call during a meeting that government held with media practitioners drawn from the country’s print and broadcast sector at Lehakoe Recreation Club in Maseru on Friday.
The meeting was organised to enhance cooperation and come with ways of ensuring the two parties effectively work together in the access to and dissemination of information from the government to the media houses.
Also in attendance were representatives from the offices of the Public Sector Improvement and Reform Programme, Administration, Office of the First Lady and other community outreach offices such as the Disaster Management Authority, Food Management Unit, Lesotho Smart Partnership Hub and the National AIDS Commission.
The media complained about the attitude of some authorities who discriminated against them and preferred to provide credible information to foreign media instead.
They called on the government to facilitate fair access to information without discrimination.
He said he could not understand the disconnection in the provision of information given that each government department had communications personnel.
He also advised the media to conduct a thorough research about issues before seeking comment because the failure to do so resulted in some of them asking questions that do not make sense.
For his part, the Minister in Prime Minister’s Office, Temeki T?olo, said the office was the overseer of the entire government and its roles should be understood effectively by media.
“The office of Prime Minister is not huge by design but superior in terms of mandate authority and administrative powers bestowed upon it through duties and responsibilities attached to the Prime Minster and the Government Secretary,” he said.