Media practitioners across Lango sub-region have been asked to fight corruption by holding government officials accountable.

The appeal was made by the Executive Director of the Uganda Media Centre (UMC), Ofwono Opondo, during the media engagement with journalists in the region at the Lira City Council Hall on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

“Your main job is to hold the government and its officials accountable. I can tell you, if your story is good and your sources are credible, even other media houses will pick it up from your social media account,” Opondo said.

He guided media practitioners in the region on the critical need to effectively relate with the government and urged them to mobilize local people to embrace the Parish Development Model (PDM) as a magic bullet to curb poverty in the region.

Opondo asked the practitioners to always adhere to professional ethics, which dictate truthfulness and timeliness, and guide society on every initiative to eradicate poverty in the area.

The Tuesday meeting focused on deepening critical media relations strategies between the government of Uganda and the media to address various pressing national issues.

He said that approximately 40% of the newly appointed Resident District Commissioners and deputies have media backgrounds because the government believes that media professionals possess a better understanding of public communication.

“Some of the suspensions and reshuffles you have seen are linked to improper behavior by RDCs, RCCs, and other government officials. There are very few people who have maintained the same job or office for more than five to 10 years,” Opondo said.

He urged RDCs in the region to draft a comprehensive media plan to enable them to prepare and consequently improve media relations.

Steward Bua, a local journalist, expressed his displeasure with how the government is utilizing the airtime allocated to it on the airwaves.

Some years ago, the Uganda Communications Commission directed all the radio stations in the country to allocate at least an hour weekly to the Office of Resident District Commission to be used for popularizing various programs. But according to Bua, this particular allocation has been abused by the officials in various ways, including inconsistent appearances, among others.

Uganda Media Centre is currently conducting a regional engagement with local media practitioners to interact with them in their daily operations.