‘Wind Electricity’ Generation Project for Luderitz

‘Wind Electricity’ Generation Project for Luderitz

19.07.2012

By: Wanja Njuguna

AS the cost of living rises, the recent increase in electricity tariffs might be nipped in the bud when the long awaited wind electricity energy generation development at Luderitz starts its operations in 2013.

The project, which is approximately15,99 square km, is situated about 12km south of Lüderitz and about eight km south of the coastal town’s airport, between the Sperrgebiet diamond protection area and Sperrgebiet National Park. The project, set to construct 18 to 22 wind turbines at a cost of $150 million is capable of producing 44 megawatts of electricity which it hopes to sell to NamPower. Currently, 50 per cent of Namibian electricity is imported and the project hopes to fill part of that void.
The wind project is the brain child of Diaz Wind Park company, which consists of  United Africa Group (Namibia), Sojitz Corporation (Japan), and Korea Midland Power Co., Ltd. (South Korea). The Namibian company owns 60 per cent of the project, while the foreign partners own 20 per cent each.
 The Environ Dynamics has since the previous report on the same project, been appointed to up-date the original Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) due to significant changes in the nature and size of the project as well as change in ownership scope, so as to be in line with Namibian environmental regulations.  
Of importance to the project is that fresh public participation in accordance with National Expert Advisory Panel (NEAP) was sought. The authority focal meetings and the public consultation meetings were held during the week of 15 September last year in Windhoek and Lüderitz. The public had been informed through adverts in the media to respond.
 During the WindTalks workshop held in Windhoek in November last year, the alternative to using a free resource such as wind, to fill Namibia’s energy deficit was discussed. The workshop, spearheaded by Vestas, a Danish wind company and Polytechnic of Namibia’s Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Institute (REEEI), emphasised the need for a different source of domestic energy all of which is currently produced from one of Namibia’s scarcest and therefore, insecure source, water, while the rest of the energy is imported from South Africa and elsewhere. 
The workshop attendants were informed that currently, all of the imported energy is produced by burning non-renewable fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas. In contrast, wind energy production requires almost nil use of water whereas producing one Mw per hour with coal requires 2 000 litres of water. 
Vestas said that research had shown that “future power outages could be as high as 10 per cent of the total demand”, based on Namibia’s growth which, if it resulted in a “one 24 hour black out” every month, this would translate into a reduction the country’s GDP by four per cent. 
Besides job creation and energy costs stability that the use of wind energy would create, Namibia’s energy burden could benefit as wind energy is a “free resource” that does not produce green house gases. This will create a self-sufficiency in energy production, as there would not be a shortfall of wind due to availability of numerous wind hotspots that have already been identified. Many of these are situated along the windy Atlantic coast which provides “strong and consistent winds”.
 The project which will take 18 months to complete is expected to have a lifespan of 22 years.
 As with most of these kinds of projects, effects on the environment as well as animals and other living organisms is important. For example, a current concern is the influence on birds and the Brown Hyena as well as waste disposal. 
On waste disposal, the project intends to install storm water and oily water drains at all new installations. 
Drains will discharge into the oily water separator. A waste disposal company will collect all waste water and/or sludge and clean the pits and dispose the waste at the Walvis Bay Municipality hazardous disposal site.
 According to the report, the total area cleared at each Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) will therefore be 2 650 square metres. For the internal roads, a minimum area of 3,5ha will have to be cleared. For the substation and support facility will require an area of about 100m by 100m. This will require an area of 1ha must be cleared. In total an estimated 10ha must be cleared for the project activities.
 The report further says that the project facilitators are aware that just like any development of this magnitude, the environment will be vulnerable and measures to reduce the risks involved will be dealt with. For example, geologically, the soils are susceptible to erosion and very shallow and therefore, alternative foundation techniques will be required to avoid blasting. 
The impact expected will be physical disturbance of soil during transport and construction activities. It is also expected that there will be proliferation of trucks and erosion of  structures. 
On hydrology, it is expected that the sandy inlays will act as very effective traps for any surface transport of contaminants such as service fluids.
 On vegetation, the Lüderitz Peninsula dwarf shrubland is known to be extremely sensitive and limited. The consultants therefore recommend that any form of development in this habitat should be avoided and any site activities must therefore be managed through a Vegetation Management Plan, which forms an integral part of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP).  Another concern is that the new north western boundaries of the site interfere significantly with the coastal flight paths.
 Another impact expected from this will be noise disturbance, movement and temporary occupation of an otherwise undisturbed habitat. 
There will also be loss of habitat, including foraging, roosting and breeding habitat of the area occupied by the completed structure. 
Collision of priority species, including globally threatened birds and/or migrating birds with wind turbine blades might occur. The impact on the near threatened brown hyena is a major concern. The effect of WTG noise and increased traffic on the movement and territoriality of the brown hyena is not clear. 
On archaeology, the study area is considered to have both historic and prehistoric archaeological significance as a landscape, not individual sites.
 However, it is important to note that the Diaz Wind Park company is keen to ensure that the EMP is streamlined on all issues of concern as they work towards the start of the project next year. EMP aims to provide a high level management tool for the overall environmental management of the project in principle as well as direct mitigation measures related to the impacts expected.

http://www.namibian.com.na/news/full-story/archive/2012/july/article/wind-electricity-generation-project-for-luderitz/

A Book Review I did for Equid Novi Journal: The Aljazeera Effect by Phillip Seib

The “Al Jazeera Effect”: How the New Global Media Are Reshaping World Politics, Philip Seib, Dulles: Potamac Books, Inc. 2008. Pp. 227. ISBN: 978–159–79720–00 (hardback)

Book Review

Like it or not, satellite television and new media are now shaping the world we live in, making the term “the world is a global village” a reality. Though titled The “Al Jazeera Effect,” the book is not only about the Qatar-based satellite TV 

station but the writer also discusses other satellite television platforms and new media. In regions like China and the Middle East where it was previously diffi- cult to access new media, the Internet and other social networking sites have put an end to that “anomaly.” In many countries, we now receive news as we choose depending on which platform is quickest and most attractive. According to the writer, “The media are no longer just the media but they have a larger popular base than ever before and as a result, have unprecedented impact on international politics” (p. xii). But just as satellite television is creating an impact all over the world, the Internet is doing much more than that by reaching a wider audience.

News media are dynamic and growing and offer much more than a collection of high-tech curiosities, and they are also contributing to changes in how the world works, altering the shape of traditional political structures on which the international system is based (p. 63).

Seib emphasizes that news media are changing the relationship between the pub- lic and news providers. Platforms like CNN allow audiences to access news when- ever they want it, a phenomenon that has been taken to a new level by Web-based news content that provides a nearly infinite variety of news products available at all times. He gives examples of the Global Voices Web site, which goes beyond stan- dard blogging, and OhmyNews, a model for other news services such as iTalkNews born in response to “the need for an interactive community where people can read breaking news, discuss it, and post their own articles as well as many others” (p. 55). However, not all countries are benefiting from the ubiquitous reach of the news media. Burma is ranked with Cuba, Libya, Turkmenistan, and North Korea as some of the world’s worst countries in terms of press freedom. Information from cyber- space via satellite and the Internet scarcely penetrates these countries.

The book combines media theory, experience, and information, which the writer seems to have gathered over several years. Seib is able to walk readers through the Arab, Middle East, and Asian television and news media worlds all in a single book. He takes us through the various stages of the media world from the terrestrial television of the 1950s to the current interactive, accessible satel- lite platforms, which give sleepless nights to many governments. Seib empha- sizes the strength of the news media in helping to sustain the virtual state:

The battle for hearts and minds in the Middle East is being fought not on the streets of Baghdad, but on the newscasts and talk shows of Al Jazeera. The future of China is being shaped not by Communist Party bureau- crats, but by bloggers working quietly in cyber cafes. The next attacks by al Qaeda will emerge not from Osama bin Laden’s cave, but from cells around the world connected by the Internet. (p. xi)

For those who watched Al Jazeera from the start, it was initially viewed as a “Muslim” television network, especially at a time when terrorism was associated

with Islam and negative implications. That is no longer the case. The writer emphasizes Al Jazeera’s competition with the likes of CNN and BBC, transmit- ting to and influencing millions of watchers/listeners. Consequently, Al Jazeera is “the most visible player in a huge universe of new communications and infor- mation providers that are changing the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed” (p. 175).

According to Seib, Al Jazeera is a paradigm of news media’s influence, just like the CNN effect did 10 years ago with gripping, visual storytelling that influ- enced foreign policy throughout the world (p. ix). Satellite television—along with blogs, tweets, and other Internet platforms—have become popular sources of information that create challenges for those who govern. While China, for example, tried to monitor Internet traffic within its borders, this intention was overwhelmed by the number of Internet users: “220 million by late 2007, more than 47 blog writers, and in December 2007, 66 million search engine queries” (p. xi). It has been difficult for Chinese government intelligence agents to keep up with this pace.

The writer criticizes what he sees as the “Western” world’s way of viewing Islam and calls it simplistic policy making that could lead to tragic results:

From simmering tensions to full-blown war, Islam and the West seem to have irreconcilable differences that can be ascribed to incompatible cul- tures with an attitude of, “best to fight it out, get it over with, and move on to the next test.” (p. 1)

Seib also criticizes the United States’ and other Western nations’ foreign pol- icy. He argues that they ignore the sophisticated political culture and staying power of virtual states such as al Qaeda. He feels that in developing strategies of dealing with Islamic states and its peoples, it is important to recognize the cru- cial concept of ummah—which emanates from the Quran (49:10) and is roughly equivalent to “the believers are a band of brothers.”

The writer affirms what many have come to see as the folly of dismissing emerging media, especially Al Jazeera, which has a following of over 35 million worldwide, on the grounds that they are not “objective” providers of informa- tion and therefore presumably have little clout with their audiences. They miss the point that they are credible, which is what matters to their audiences (p. xi). Seib calls upon the news media to go beyond proving information to which the developed world is accustomed. He stops just short of saying it should be used for the good of the people, for example, the amount of air time devoted to the Martha Stewart scandal compared to genocide issues in Darfur.

Governments hostile to al Qaeda also need to wake up to the fact that “limited real estate” in Pakistan and Afghanistan does not deter the network from doing its work, since they have realized the power of the virtual state and therefore

rely heavily upon media technologies to constitute their “global homeland.” It is important to note that the media are no longer just the media as technological players, and that at many levels they are intervening in world affairs. Therefore, “understanding the Al Jazeera effect will help anyone who is concerned about the future to better comprehend the change that swirls about us” (p. 191).

Though the book has an attractive title and is very informative, in his next edition, Seib might want to make it more reader friendly. Some of the sections were hard to follow. The author might also want to cut down information that is not very relevant to the topic. The book concentrates too much on television in the Middle East and has little on other parts of the world, considering the fact, for example, that Al Jazeera is now watched in many countries across continents, including Africa, and not by Muslims alone but by Christians and people from all walks of life. Chapter 4 on the “Virtual State” and Chapter 5 on “Global Connec- tions, Global Terrorism” could do with information that is more current.

More on the impact of new media could endear the book to a wider audience, while a review of the online impact of religious and evangelical broadcasting sta- tions such as Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), other than Islam only, might contribute to a broader perspective on the “Al Jazeera Effect.”

Wanja Njuguna

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02560054.2010.9666611

Praise for Dad in Stockholm

These kind of memories about dad just feel me with joy....see the part in bold below...

“Arise And Shine” Conference Could Be a Good Break

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a rare activity among Kenyans and friends will be taking place in Stockholm. The Bagarmossen Church will organize the “Arise and Shine” Conference which will be the first of its kind within the Kenyan Church going community in Stockholm.

The population of Kenyans in Stockholm is very tiny and if one has to talk about the “Christian community”, it would be opportune to assert that many Kenyans are “Christians by word of mouth” and not by deeds. In fact, the population of Kenyan Christians is very small here and it is in this context that the “Arise and shine” Conference has some significance.

Will this Conference draw the attention of Kenyans in Stockholm about the need to move closer to Jesus Christ? Of course, in the United States and Britain where the Kenyan constituency is substantially large, a Conference of the “Arise and Shine” type might not attract a lot of attention. But, in Stockholm, the situation is slightly different. The Conference puts the Bagarmossen Church into sharp focus while it also helps in promoting the Church because pulling such a Conference is a statement that Kenyans behind the Bagarmossen church are serious in what they are doing.

Pastor Samson, Pastor Samuel, brother Muritu, Pastor Muraya, brother Caxtone, Sister Catherine, Sister Sheila, Sister Lissa and others around the Bagarmossen Church should be proud of having pulled Bishop Karanja of “The Wings of Love Ministry” to Stockholm and to spread love and forgiveness among Kenyans and friends in this city.

This Conference should offer a moment for Kenyans and friends in Stockholm to “Rise and Shine” after being low and gloomy following the post election violence. Let us hope that long after the Conference, it will be possible for those who will get the message to spread the good news among Kenyans, some of whom are deeply engaged in sin and other dirty activities abhorred by the Almighty.

The Conference should not just be limited to issues connected to people’s ability to “Arise and shine”. The Conference should also seize on the opportunity to pray for Kenyans in Stockholm to see the light and join the crusade to heaven. Kenyans in Stockholm need to stop hot gossip, betrayal of one another, spreading lies and rumours about people, moving with wives of other Kenyans, conmanship, prostitution, hatred, alcoholism among other unacceptable vices that are becoming routine within the community.

It is during Conferences of the “Arise and shine” type that the Kenyan community here is in a better position to move closer to the almighty and have a reality check. There is need for Kenyans in Stockholm to ask for forgiveness of sins and what better opportunity could have presented itself than the “Arise and shine” Conference?”.

This is not to launch a campaign for the Conference. The truth is that since the days of Bishop George Njuguna who passed away after returning to Kenya, many Kenyans have never been close to a Kenyan Bishop here in Stockholm and part of the reason why some Kenyans do not go to church is because they are tired of white Swedish Bishops they cannot relate to. Here we are, with a Kenyan Bishop travelling all the way to help us “Arise and Shine” so we cannot turn around and say that we were never told.

I hope that this Conference will be an eye opener and that it will go a long way to awaken Wakenya here about the need to revert to Jesus Christ as our personal savior. Nobody hates rising up happy in the morning and shining in the streets.

The difference with the Conference is that you are supposed to “arise and shine” internally and you will not be able to do so if you cannot attend the Conference, open your ears, focus your mind and listen to Bishop Karanja who will be delivering the message in typical Kenyan style.

The Bagarmossen Church has done its job and now, Kenyans need to reciprocate by taking a break and finding how they can arise and shine. At least, there is one good reason to skip Vasa for an evening after work because you never know. Another advantage is that you are likely to leave Vasa staggering but at the Conference, you might just begin to shine after a long time of darkness in your life.

Okoth Osewe

http://kenyastockholm.com/2008/08/14/arise-and-shine-conference-could-be-a-good-break/

Public Accounts Committee Relevance to Countries

FULL STORY

07.06.2012

Public accounts committee conference an eye opener

By: WANJA NJUGUNA


WINDHOEK – When the Effective Public Financial Accountability Conference of the Southern African Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (SADCOPAC) and Eastern African Association of Public Accounts Committees (EAAPAC) ended in Windhoek recently, the increasing importance of these committees in the participating nations’ good governance, transparency and financial accountability could not have been more pronounced.

As citizens of the various countries not only in Africa but across the world continue to demand these values, none other than Namibia's Speaker of National Assembly, Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab concurred. During his opening remarks, Gurirab said that PACs play a very critical role in promoting democracy, good governance and accountability in State finances and public interest in their respective regions.

Discussing the financial squeeze in the west that is impacting on the developing nations, Gurirab said, “Governments in the West that we have viewed as financial powerhouses have become beggars, looking to China as their coffers run empty,” adding that the dwindling of financial resources worldwide negatively affected developing nations as demand for their exports reduced. “Like many other developing nations, Namibia is already experiencing a budget deficit while developmental programs are standing with open mouths like chicks waiting on the mother to feed them,” he said. “We therefore have to carefully balance the scarce financial resources against the pressure for spending wisely on basic needs of the people and thus the importance of PACs,” he added.

Gurirab decried corruption as an international menace, saying that Parliaments need to oversee the Executive on financial spending to cut on financial crimes. “The Office of the Auditor General, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Anti-Corruption Commissions must all work together to tighten the noose around the necks of the culprits and bring them to book without delay,” he emphasized.

Namibia’s finance minister, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila concurred, adding that transparency and accountability are indispensable for the efficient functioning of any country and for promoting economic growth and fostering social well being. “To achieve this, information about the government’s fiscal policy, sources of revenue, spending priorities, funding of the deficit and the public debt situation should be accessible,” she said.

SADCOPAC chairperson who is also South Africa’s PAC chair, Fish Mahlalela highlighted the importance of the two groups. “SADCOPAC and EAAPAC were created in 2003 and 2004 respectively as permanent institutions, in order to promote mutual support, foster the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience among PACs on the oversight function with the overall objective to contribute to good governance and transparency,” Mahlalela explained.

Speaking to The Namibian, Hon Usutuaije Maamberua, head of the Namibian PAC said that a major concern was the improvement of Accounts Committees and their responsibilities. “We need to improve cooperation of he various accounts committees so that all the countries can work together to bring financial accountability and good governance in our different governments,” Maamberua said.

SADCOPAC was represented by Zambia, South Africa (Chair of Conference), Namibia (Deputy Chair of Conference), Malawi, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and Botswana while representatives from EAAPAC were Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Burundi. South Sudan, the newest kid on the block, attended the meeting for the first time. It was represented by Hon. Gocmakuac Moyor and Hon Mrs Awut Deng Achil of the Parliament of South Sudan. Speaking to The Namibian, Achil who was head of the delegation said, “As we build a new nation, we have many challenges such as establishing laws, capacity building as well as coping with other problems in South Sudan and we will try and implement what we learn here when we go back home.'

When the meeting started, the members looked at the progress of the Arusha 2011 Resolutions todate. It was highlighted that most member states had managed to implement most of the resolution with some of the successes being performance audit done for the first time in Botswana, PAC meetings now open to the public and media, Tanzania's recommendation for redeployment of six ministers implicated in financial misconduct, while in Uganda, some Ministers were asked to resign due to financial misconduct. From Swaziland, Hon Thuli Dladla indicated that performance audit was conducted in Swaziland for the first time.

Some of the challenges noted were funding to most PACs, though PAC in Zambia indicated that they have adequate funds to effectively run their programmes, the Auditor-Generals in countries such as Ethiopia not being independent, a communication strategy for the two groups not yet developed, lack of follow-up on the implementation of PAC recommendations and lack of support staff hindering effectiveness and efficiency of PACs in countries such as Mozambique and Swaziland.

Recommendations given included, capacity building for PAC's, speedy scrutiny of reports, involvement of civil society and engaging the media, while Government response to issues PAC raised should be tabled within six months.

In an interview with The Namibian, the longest serving PAC member who is also chairman of Tanzania’s PAC, Hon John M. Cheyo, lauded the work of the two committees saying that PACs have made a major difference in the way governments deal with the thorny financial issues in their countries. “When we started these meetings, a number of governments were reluctant to implement what the committees recommended but now, it has become prudent that for governments to run smoothly, the recommendations of these committees must be respected,” Cheyo, who has been Tanzania’s PAC chairman for the past 12 years, said.

The Tanzanian Mp said that every country now respects the two major laws that deal with money - Finance which raises funds and Appropriation which deals with who is allowed to do what with the money. “Today, Permanent Secretaries can no longer spend more than is allocated to them,” he said adding that the value of networking in the meetings where members of parliament are able to compare notes, establish benchmarks and best practices has been very helpful to the various countries representatives. “Today, we no longer have countries changing their PACs every few months – now, atleast results are seen as PACs are established to atleast work for a full 5 year term of the parliament in many countries,” Cheyo said.

It was clear that there had been major successes in the past year as at the end of the meeting, unlike 17 resolutions made in Arusha, the two groups came up with only seven resolutions, dabbed, Namibia Resolutions while every country represented agreed on action plans that they would implement on return to their respective countries. The two groups agreed that each jurisdiction was to implement the resolutions within a time frame that suits it. They will give updates on the implementation that they have done and challenges they faced while implementing the resolution.

To facilitate a better system of dealing with problems that PACs face in their home country, the meeting attendants were trained by Beverly Wenger-Trayner through an increasingly popular program called Community of Practice where teams are brought together to learn from their peers on how to deal with similar problems. “The new program that has become very popular now in training these kinds of groups helps the learners to not only learn from their peers but to know how to implement the same in their respective countries.

Across the world, there are many countries that have PACs and the roles may differ but accountability and financial transparency in the country's governments is at the top of their agenda. In UK for example, The Committee of Public Accounts is appointed by the House of Commons to examine "the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted to Parliament to meet the public expenditure, and of such other accounts laid before Parliament as the Committee may think fit. In the current committee, there are members from the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats. The Chair, Rt Hon Margaret Hodge is an MP from the Labour Party.

The meeting was sponsored by among others, World Bank Institute and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
 
http://www.namibian.com.na/news/full-story/archive/2012/june/article/public-accounts-committee-conference-an-eye-opener/

Kenyan Nurses Arrive to Work in Namibia

NATIONAL NEWS

15.05.2012

Nurses arrive to work in Namibia

By: WANJA NJUGUNA

TWENTY-THREE nurses from different hospitals in Kenya and Lesotho have arrived in Windhoek to start a two year contract in various hospitals in Namibia.

The visibly tired but excited nurses were received by senior representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Services of Namibia led by Namibia Chief Nursing Officer, Gloria Mubale, Kenya’s High Commissioner to Namibia Peter Gitau and Kenya’s third secretary Safari Mwambire.
Welcoming the nurses, Gitau informed them that the Namibian Government was grateful to have them join other Kenyan nurses in the country many of whom have worked in Namibia for many years, to beef up the nursing services across the country.
“Your coming to Namibia is the culmination of a visit in September, 2010 by the Minister for Medical Services of Kenya, Peter A. Ny’ong’o whereby Namibian Government asked for 100 nurses and 26 doctors to further facilitate and assist in this great nation’s advances in the medical industry,” Gitau said, adding that the current group was the first among the larger group expected in Namibia over the coming months.
Gitau said that out of the meeting with the minister in 2010, a Joint Working Group (JWG) is being set up in order to incorporate the World Health Organisation’s global code of practice on international recruitment of health personnel and many other pertinent issues. The JWG will also improve the existing memorandum of understanding between the two governments to oversee the implementation of it. Currently a subcommittee has already been set up to work on draft terms of reference of the two governments as there is also need for lecturers in their medical institute.
Despite the fact that Namibia has started training its medical personnel internally and externally, there is still a huge shortage of nurses and doctors and Kenya is helping to bridge the gap by exporting its resources to the country.
On her part, an excited Mubale, told the team that their services were instrumental to assisting the country run its medical care effectively.
“As you join other Kenyan nurses who have been here for a while, it is important that you remember first and foremost, your call as a nurse which is to serve those afflicted by various ailments, to do your work to the best of your ability and in return, our government will ensure that your working conditions are up to the standard that is expected of expatriate workers,” Mubale said.
She added that Kenya has in the past few years played a key role in helping Namibia with human resources in various fields and the Namibia government is grateful for this gesture.
Speaking on behalf of the nurses, Nandako Kalundu, a nurse from Bungoma hospital said the recruitment process had taken slightly over a year.
“Many of us were informed by our colleagues and relatives already working here about the positions on the Namibia Public Service site and we applied. Though the recruitment takes a long time, it is very professionally handled,” Kalundu emphasized.  She was grateful to Mubale who has continued to communicate with them as well as facilitate their smooth entry into the country.
Kalundu, who has been a nurse for the past 20 years, emphasized the importance of the nurses living up to their calling wherever they will be posted.
“We know we will work in some difficult areas but it is important that we remember our master is the patients that we care for and we should give them our e best,” she said.
The 23 nurses join a team of over 100 nurses who have been working in different hospitals in Namibia for a number of years now. Kenya has the highest number of foreign nurses working in Namibia.

http://www.namibian.com.na/news-articles/national/full-story/archive/2012/may/article/nurses-arrive-to-work-in-namibia/

Towards a code of ethics for members of Kenya Union of Journalists

Towards a code of ethics for members of Kenya Union of Journalists Author: Njuguna, Perpetua Wanja | 1998 | MA | Daystar University, Kenya Journalism has become a popular profession for young people leaving school or collegefor it is easy to secure as a journalist because there are numerous newspapers, magazines and broadcasting stations that have emerged in the recent past. From a handful of only one broadcasting station at independence in 1963, there are over 50 publications to-date and five broadcasting stations. Journalists in these publications and broadcasting media have an obligation to themselves and to society to do their work properly and in an ethical manner. Often, they are faced with a dilemma on what to do when confronted with a moral issue. The purpose of this project was to provide members of the Kenya Union of Journalists, (KUJ) a body that brings together over 200 Kenyan journalists who work for both local and international media (the largest number of journalists under one body), with a Code of Ethics which would guide their day to day duties and help standardize their work ethics. This is hoped to result in professionalising journalism in Kenya. This project found that though members of the KUJ have been working without a Code of Ethics, they have been guided by those that are created by the media organizations for which they work. Many of those codes are a replica of those from the Sweden forum a large part of which does not address journalists within a Kenyan cultural context. The research method applied here was a Focus group discussion facilitated by a questionnaire and Codes of Ethics from other countries. These were provided to each participant before hand for discussion in a forthcoming forum on the project. Later, seven people associated with journalism and who had been given a copy of the recommendations of the forum separately met with the researcher to deliberated on those recommendations. From what emerged in the discussions, the researcher made the final analysis of their recommendations to formulate a Code of Ethics for KUJ members. It is hoped that the information and suggestions presented in this project will help journalists, journalism teachers and students and other people interested in the conduct of their own staff members to formulate their own Codes of Ethics as well as further this project beyond just a Code of Ethics. keywords: Ethics / Journalism / Kenya Union of Journalism / Codes held at: Daystar University Library PN 4756 .N58 contact details > http://www.researchkenya.org/?ID=8317&search=Co-operative+College+of+Kenya

Media practitioners to get Petlo tips

ARTS & CULTURE

Media practitioners to get Petlo tips

STAFF WRITER

 

Petlo Literary Arts Trust is organising a two-day workshop for media practitioners, which will take place February 10 and 11, at Falcon Crest Suites.

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Themed 'Reporting on culture, tourism and the performing and literary arts', the workshop aims to train journalists on the art of reporting on artistic and cultural events, reviewing books, and musical concerts, writing features on tourism and travel.

"One of our aims as Petlo Literary Arts Trust is to support, encourage, and develop literature and the arts in Botswana.  We have identified the media as a key partner in this endeavour and to this end we are organising a workshop," a statement from Petlo stated.

The workshop is open to journalists, cultural practitioners, tourism marketers, freelance writers, editors of newspapers, and media students.

Speakers at the workshop will include, Head of School of Visual and Performing Arts, Professor David Kerr, UB Media Studies lecturer Wanja Njuguna, veteran journalist Rampholo Molefhe, architect and development consultant Neo Modisi, and UB senior lecturer Barolong Seboni. The workshop starts at 8:30 and ends at 17:00 on each day.

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=7&aid=806&dir=2011/February/Wednesday9