The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has said it does not interfere in the internal affairs of the government-owned New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC), and its operations are directed and managed by the board of directors and management.

This follows the suspension of the publication’s Managing Editor, Jonathan Beukes, which came to light on Monday.

According to MICT Acting Executive Director (ED) Elizabeth Kamutuezu in a press statement on Wednesday, neither the minister nor the ED are involved in, or interfere with, the daily operations of NEPC.

‘Equally, there are processes, systems and procedures that need to be followed and authorities are vested with these powers. Consequently, the ministry will thus not be dragged into operational issues of NEPC,’ Kamutuezu stressed.

On Monday, New Era newspaper issued an apology to the Judicial Service Commission, saying they ran an editorial which painted a picture of a non-transparent commission with regards to the selection of a Zimb
abwean judge, Moses Chinhengo, for the Fishrot corruption trial.

‘Last week, we let our guard down and published stories and an editorial that fell way below the standards that we had set ourselves,’ the apology read.

NEPC has however not disclosed why Beukes was suspended, with NEPC Chief Executive Officer Christof Maletsky telling local media it was an internal matter.

Shoki Kandjimi, the information ministry’s senior public relations officer, said media houses in Namibia operate under self-regulation and adhere to a code of ethics and conduct facilitated by the Editors’ Forum of Namibia.

‘The government reaffirms its unwavering commitment to media freedom and the principles outlined in the Windhoek+30 Declaration,’ he said.

Source: Namibia Press Agency