Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Independent presidential candidate John Katumba has criticized Media Council of Uganda for ordering the registration of practicing journalists to secure the permission of covering 2021 elections and other public functions.
Early this month, the chairperson of the Media Council of Uganda, Paulo Ekochu revealed that all media houses both local and international including freelance journalists who fail to register, criminal charges would be opened up against them.
Ekochu said that all cards currently issued to journalists have also been recalled so that they are issued with new ones with security features that make it hard to forge. He also said that those with already issued cards will not be required to pay afresh.
He emphasized that the council will open criminal charges against all media houses both local and international including freelance journalists who fail to register. However, while campaigning for the presidency in Kabale district on Thursday, Katumba describes the order as unfair.
Sensing a racket, Katumba says that because this election is scientific, some officials in the media council are looking for ways of gaining for their selfish interests by making innocent media practitioners suffer.
Katumba says that such an order shames the nation because it hampers the effective delivery of information up to the final consumers. He says that this is the time for such people to stop shaming Uganda by even distorting what has been put in place.
Katumba also said that it is very unwise for the incumbent government to plan for exportation of crude oil like it is being done than preparing for constructing refineries and export already processed oil products.
Katumba says that much as refined oil products are more profitable than exporting crude oil, greedy officials in the incumbent government prefer exporting crude so that they benefit alone.
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