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13 complaints to ACC from 2019-24 against media agencies and the regulatory authority
On 30th December 2024 the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent out a letter to all media houses, saying that while a free and independent media is vital to a vibrant democracy, media organizations themselves maybe susceptible to various forms of corruption.
The letter said, “For instance, between 2019 and 2024, the ACC received 13 complaints against media organizations indicating various offences.”
The letter said ACC would like to conduct a pro-active study titled, ‘Assessment of Corruption Vulnerabilities and Integrity in the Media Sector,’ to assess the integrity infrastructure and corruption vulnerabilities in the media sector and also give actionable recommendations.
The ACC as part of its study sent anonymous questionaries to most media staff and also had interviews. It looked at editorial policies and code of ethics of media houses and analyzed government policies.
The report was finally released on 20th May to media houses.
The final report in the executive summary again cited the 13 complaints received by ACC against media organizations as one of the main basis of the study. It said the complaints were about abuse of HR selection and recruitment functions, embezzlement, and other offenses.
Lower down the report explaining the rationale for the study again brought up the 13 complaints saying that two qualified for investigation.
It has been learnt that of the 13 complaints the two that qualified for investigation was against BICMA in 2020 when the Royal Audit Authority in its annual report of 2020 flagged two cases.
The first case was two instances where a former accountant of BICMA deposited Nu 1.043 million of filming permit fees only after an audit and also failed to deposit the combined Nu 0.453 mn penalty for late deposit of revenue into the Audit Account.
In the second case the same former accountant also withdrew Nu 0.150 mn from the Universal Services Fund instead of Nu 0.015 mn thus embezzling Nu 0.135 mn. The liable penalty for such an act is Nu 0.50 mn.
RAA forwarded the two cases above to ACC for investigation which investigated both cases and forwarded them for prosecution to the OAG.
The remaining 11 complaints were against the state owned media houses which had to mainly do with HR selection and recruitment issues among others.
Of these 11 complaints 5 were closed after getting more information on the complaints and getting Action Taken Reports (ATR) on them, 2 complaints were sent for sensitization on the vulnerabilities and 4 were dropped.
The ACC report said media organizations are subject to internal audits, statutory audits, and monitoring by the Department of Revenue and Customs and BICMA, among other regulatory compliances and there is also a code of ethics for journalists by BICMA (legally mandatory).
The ACC report outlined the importance of the Media Enterprise Development Budget.
The report said, “Regarding budgetary support from the government, the Media Enterprise Development Budget of Nu. 4.3 million is provided annually, equally divided between six private media houses. The budget is routed through DoMCIIP and implemented by BMF. This budgetary support from the government is a massive help to the private media houses, as they are struggling with low revenue generation.”
The ACC study says that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the media to get access to public information.
It says that despite the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Employment developing the SOP for sharing public information with the media in 2023 journalists are still facing difficulty in getting timely and relevant information.
When it comes to potential corruption risks the report says the corruption risks are potential and not exhaustive.
The study found that there have been a few cases in which some media houses lost their advertisers after reporting critical or negative stories about them. While most media professionals remain committed to unbiased reporting and upholding national interest, they may sometimes try to preserve the crucial relationship with their advertisers.
The ACC said while publishing paid articles and advertorials may not be unethical, not declaring or identifying them correctly is. It recommended for such paid articles to be clearly labeled. An ACC official said if an article is an advertorial then it should be labeled and mentioned as such.
ACC said while none of the respondents reported having experienced bribery so far. However, the risks of engaging in such practices cannot be undermined.
The report said like in any organization, media houses risk abuse of function in HR decisions such as recruitment, promotions, and training nominations. It said people in authority may recruit, promote, or nominate candidates based on personal relationships.
It also said media houses engage in various decision-making processes in editorial, HR, and administrative meetings. It was found that while there are practices of verbally declaring and managing conflicts of interest in such decision-making processes, their documentation is lacking in some media houses.
The ACC said while the findings do not necessarily indicate the presence of corruption, not addressing them may create breeding grounds for corrupt practices to thrive, thereby affecting media integrity.
In terms of the recommendations the ACC gave a few. One is that editorial policies or guidelines must safeguard editorial independence, prevent any form of external influence, and provide a framework for decision-making on sensitive issues.
Media houses should adopt transparent labeling practices, such as marking paid content.
Media houses should institute and enforce formal gift disclosure and management systems.
Media houses should institute a system of declaring and managing conflicts of interest in decision-making processes. Moreover, it is crucial to maintain records of them.
ACC said existing training modules do not adequately equip journalists with the skills required for investigative reporting, ethical decision-making, and resisting external pressures. There is a necessity for competency-based and longer-term training programs.
ACC said all government agencies and media houses should implement the SOP to ensure a uniform process of sharing public information
The ACC also said that the recommendations in this report are neither exhaustive nor intended to be prescriptive.
