MEDIA HOUSES NEED STIMULUS, SAYS TONGA

By BENNIE MUNDANDO IT IS obnoxious for Government to watch media houses plunge into financial desolation without any bailout initiative amid the rav- aging Covid-19, the 3RD Liberation Movement has said. The opposition party noted that the media plays a very critical role in national development, Mr Enock Tonga, the 3RD LM president, said the party was boggled by Government’s move to turn a blind eye to the economic challenges facing the media despite stakeholders donating to the fight against Covid-19. Mr Tonga said media hous- es were among the most hit businesses in the country but that nothing had been done to provide a stimulus package for them. According to Mr Tonga, no media has received any funding for publicity in the fight against Covid-19 even when some of the funds were donated specifically for pub- licity or campaign messages to sensitise the public. “We believe that part of the funds which have been donat- ed be given to media houses as a token of appreciation and cushion Covid-19 campaign message costs incurred by me- dia houses. Where is it? Who are the beneficiaries, if the intended beneficiaries (media houses) have not yet received it up to now?” Mr. Tonga asked. Mr Tonga said like a few other businesses, many bud- get-strapped media com- panies were continuing to operate as usual while figur- ing out how to make a profit amid the economic slump in- duced by the fast-spreading Coronavirus. He said to lighten the finan- cial hardship battering jour- nalists, media houses would need low-interest loans.