A section of opposition Members of Parliament has welcomed President Museveni’s decision to reverse with immediate effect his earlier decision requiring all government agencies to advertise with only government-owned media outlets.
During yesterday’s meeting with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) at Entebbe State House, the President directed the Minister of ICT Dr Chris Baryomunsi to meet with the NAB team next week to harmonise the position on how they will be considered for government advertising cash.
“They raised a concern of lost revenues due to a directive I issued on channeling all government advertising business to UBC and New Vision. This directive was never intended to harm the private sector but to help revitalize UBC. We have therefore agreed that we shall give govt media entities some preferential treatment while still giving the private companies an opportunity to remain in business,” Museveni posted on X, the former Twitter.
Speaking to journalists from Parliament, the shadow minister for information and anti-corruption Joyce Bagala congratulated the media fraternity for a battle well fought.
She said as opposition members of Parliament, they consider free media a critical partner in the new agenda for Uganda and must avoid self-censorship due to ‘regime interference and intimidation’.
