04 Jun 2023

Department and Information Services employees have been encouraged to report news with thoroughness and accuracy.

Deputy Permanent Secretary - Information and Broadcasting in the Ministry for State President Mr Oshinka Tsiang emphasised the importance of due diligence and paying attention to detail, saying print news were also a reference point for different discussions and research.

He was addressing BOPA/DailyNews reporters and photographers at the beginning of a refresher course on court reporting in Gaborone on Thursday.  He said the articles they wrote were critical to contributing to Knowledge-Based Economy and elevating Botswana to high income status.

In that regard he said reporters should take their job seriously as they were also drivers of the vision by sharing with the nation, milestones achieved by government through news articles.

“You are gate keepers in your own right and you should understand the longevity of what you are engaged in. The quality you represent is for this country,” he said.

He said the course was meant to sharpen reporters’ skills on court reporting that required some level of accuracy. He said more refresher courses would be scheduled to ensure reporters were up to date with current reporting trends. 

 On other issues, he called on the officers to break silos and divisions for their professional growth and to enable the department to progress.

 Mr Tsiang acknowledged that he was aware of their welfare and progression issues among others, which he said would be addressed. For their part, the officers called for redress of their grievances, among them progression and other staff welfare issues that have been pending for too long.   

They also said welfare issues affected their performance and employee morale in general. ENDS