Louis Kasekende: The media's role in Ugandan society
Remarks by Dr Louis Kasekende, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda, at the 4th edition of
the Uganda National Journalism Awards; African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME), Kampala,
12 April 2017.
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Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to begin by thanking Peter Mwesige, the Executive Director of the African Centre for
Media Excellence, for inviting me to be the Chief Guest at this awards gala. This is an important
event for journalism in Uganda and I hope it will contribute to raising standards in the profession
and also inspire young people to take up a career in journalism.
The theme of my remarks tonight is the role of the media in our society, and although I will focus
on the worlds of business, finance and economics, I think that some of my remarks will also be
relevant for journalists covering other walks of life.
What are the essential functions of business and economic journalism? What are the most
important services it can offer to the public and society at large? I believe that there are two
critical types of services that the public should expect from the business pages or programmes
of the media.
The first is to provide objective reporting of the basic facts about the economy and business; for
example, what is the rate of inflation? How much profit did company X make? What alternative
investments are available such as Treasury bills and bonds and how can they be accessed?
Many citizens need this type of information to guide the decisions which matter in their working
and private lives. Obviously, in the age of the internet, the public could obtain much of this
information themselves, for example through the websites of public agencies and private
companies, but for most people that would be very time consuming. For most members of the
public, it is much more practical to obtain the economic data they want through the media.
That means that journalists must report these data accurately, in a manner which is easily
accessible and understandable, and also, where necessary, explain what it actually means; they
must be able to put the data into the relevant context. Obviously that is only possible if the
journalists have a good grasp of economic concepts, their relevance and how they are presented
in statistical form. On our part, we now endeavour to provide soundbites of key messages in
selected local dialects; and I would like to commend the local language media for supporting our
cause of translating and interpreting these policy matters for the benefit of the rural community
and the "bottom of the pyramid".
The second type of service required of economic and business journalism is good analysis of
relevant issues; journalists need to go beyond reporting facts and explain what is happening and
why. This is essential if the public is to acquire any understanding, however rudimentary, of the
economic issues which affect their lives and of economic policy. Economic analysis is much
more demanding in terms of specialist expertise of journalists than is reporting. Journalists who
specialise in economic analysis require good academic training in economics. The media may
choose to commission non journalists, for example academics, to provide analysis for them, but
the editors who commission this work still require sufficient expertise to be able to evaluate its
quality and relevance.
Well informed economic analysis in the media has a vital contribution to make to public debate in
Uganda. It is essential, for the health of democracy, that statements about the economy and
public policy proposals receive critical scrutiny in the media, by those with the expertise to do
this. The media's record in this regard is rather patchy.
In the United States, the trade policy pronouncements of the current President have been subject
to extensive analysis in the media; anyone in that country who is interested in this aspect of
public policy can have no excuse for not being well informed about the pros and cons of
President Trump's favoured trade policies. In contrast, in Uganda the Government's recently
announced Buy Uganda Build Uganda trade policy proposal has received very little analysis and
evaluation in the media. Readers and viewers looking for information and advice on what this
proposal might mean for the Ugandan economy will have been disappointed.
I would like to say a few words about how the Bank of Uganda (BOU) views its relations with the
media. The BOU implements an inflation targeting monetary policy framework, the efficacy of
which depends on the public understanding what we are trying to achieve. The BOU uses its
monetary policy tool - the policy interest rate (Central Bank Rate) - to target core inflation, but
our ability to achieve our inflation target does not just depend on setting the policy interest rate at
the appropriate level. Public expectations about future inflation and the impact of monetary policy
also help to determine future inflation outcomes. Hence monetary policy must be transparent.
The BOU must explain its monetary policy to the public and try to guide inflation expectations
through clear indication of its Central bank rate decision, the underlying reasons for that decision
and convincing the public that the decision taken shall deliver the publically announced inflation
target. For example, if the public is made to expect higher inflation and does not believe in the
ability of the Central bank to reign in on this inflation; it will result in a self-fulfilling episode where
firms will adjust their prices, leading to higher actual inflation. Naturally, this means that the media
is a critical component of the policy transmission mechanism and efficient communications is
essential for the credibility of the entire policy framework.
As a result, the BOU has revamped its communications policy to support the implementation of
the inflation targeting-lite policy framework. We hold a press briefing immediately after the
bimonthly interest rate setting meeting to which all the media are invited. In addition to the detailed
Monetary Policy report issued after the press briefing, our communications department is always
willing to respond to questions from the media and to arrange for senior staff to be interviewed.
We regard the media as our partners. But we do not expect uncritical coverage from the media
of the BOU as that would be counterproductive and would do little to enhance public confidence
in monetary policy. Instead, we welcome well informed comment and analysis by the media of
our monetary policy, even if critical, which can enhance public understanding and contribute to
public debate.
Before I conclude, I would like to make a brief comment on the overall state of the media in this
country. When one takes a long term perspective, it is beyond doubt that that there has been
great progress made by the Ugandan media over the last two decades. The range of media
outlets has broadened and we have a much more vibrant media than many other countries in our
region. In many respects, the media has been one of the most successful sub-sectors of our
economy. I hope that this progress can continue and that initiatives like this one tonight will spur
journalists to greater heights. But for this to happen, journalists must jealously guard their
integrity and intellectual independence so as not to act according to the whims or biased
persuasions of self-interest groups or individuals, which will be to the detriment of the public
good, institutions and the economy as a whole.
Finally let me congratulate all the winners of awards tonight. I have no doubt that you have
thoroughly deserved your success. Thank you for listening to me.