07/05/2026
Under-reporting Poverty is Not Peaceful! A Message for World Press Freedom Day
BY Keaoleboga Dipogiso*
When deprivation concentrates in rural areas, informal settlements, or among marginalized groups, fear, instability, and conflict become more likely. In this framing, peace is not the absence of conflict alone, but the presence of secure, dignified living conditions accessible to all. This article contributes the idea that a robust, ethically governed media landscape is not a luxury but a sacrosanct necessity for a peaceful, secure, and prosperous future. It is critical to ensure proper documentation of chronicles of lack, without fearing the political backlash that may be amassed from it. To underreport these chronicles has not only obscured them from the public eye, but disparaged the potential of social policy intervention.
Whereas Botswana’s economy has been framed by steady growth, prudent macroeconomic management, and a diamond-driven export sector, deep and underlying impediments to human security exist. With one of Africa’s highest per-capita incomes on the continent and a comparatively low debt burden, Botswana’s development model has often been cited as a beacon of stability in a region frequently rocked by volatility. Yet, beneath the surface of macroeconomic success lies more nuanced realities of growth without inclusive distribution, and governance without a fully transparent marketplace of ideas.
In this text, I discuss the World Press Freedom theme “Shaping a Future at Peace” from the context of human security (independent, sustainable livelihoods characterized by both freedom from fear and freedom from want). In Botswana, where there’s relative absence of large-scale violence, the essential role of the media in documenting inequality, deprivation, and underdevelopment cannot be overemphasised. Media freedoms, when exercised with responsibility, function as a public audit of power and a conduit for evidence-based debate.
In Botswana, as in many developing economies, the free press has the potential to illuminate the gaps between headline growth and actual lived experiences. When media outlets can investigate and report on wage disparities, job creation, rural poverty, and social neglect, policymakers receive timely signals about where the social contract weakens. Conversely, a constrained media environment risks turning inequality into an opaque problem, enabling policy drift, misallocation of resources, and perpetuated deprivation. The press becomes not merely a spectator, but a driver of reform, insisting that development is not merely aggregate growth but the tangible sharing of its benefits.
Development, in the journalistic and policy sense, like the American economist Stiglitz put it, should be understood as the distribution of the gains and benefits of growth across all segments of society. True development is measured by access to decent work, fair wages, quality education, adequate health services, reliable housing, and secure livelihoods. When these elements are broadly accessible, a society can withstand shocks (economic downturns, climate impacts, or health crises) without falling into social fragmentation. Doing this is to critically depict that development, in the sense of human security, should underscore the broad distribution of growth gains. Under development, by contrast, is not just a human security threat it is insecurity in its own respect.
Now in relation to press freedom, a critical but often underappreciated aspect is the under-reporting of concrete facts that define inequality in Botswana. Unequal pay for equal work, gaps in employment statistics that obscure the real composition of the labour force, and rural poverty are not mere statistics but tangible indicators of who bears the costs of growth. When media outlets fail to foreground these discrepancies or, worse, when they frame them through a partisan lens, the public loses a shared sense of reality. This can erode trust in institutions, reduce civic engagement, and slow the policy responses needed to bridge divides. Comprehensive reporting should illuminate not only macro indicators like GDP growth, but micro realities. The wage differentials between urban and rural workers, the gendered dimensions of pay, the rate of unemployment among youth, and the quality and reach of public services in hinterland communities are but some of the critical realities hidden from the public due to inadequate reporting.
To advance human security and peace, Botswana must address media ecosystems as part of national resilience and the struggle for an equal society. The call to liberalize media from state control shouldn’t be viewed as a call for chaos but for pluralism, accountability, and protection for journalists. A diverse media landscape (encompassing independent broadcasters, digital platforms, and community outlets) can investigate, debate, and challenge monopolists of economic power without fear. Policy steps would include safeguarding editorial independence, transparent licensing, robust protection for journalists, and anti-corruption mechanisms that operate independent of political interference. Plurality strengthens resilience not only against misinformation and disinformation but against the concentration of power that can mute certain voices and exclude others from the public square. As a solution oriented writer, I profess the following as measurable solutions;
• Liberalize media from state control: A healthier media landscape in Botswana requires plurality of voices, editorial independence, and protection for journalists. Public interest remains served when outlets including independent broadcasters, digital platforms, and community media—can investigate, debate, and challenge power without fear of reprisals.
• Rehabilitate state-owned media from slant reporting: State media should serve public service rather than political fidelity. Reforms could include independent editorial governance, clearer codes of ethics, transparency about funding and ownership interests, and mechanisms for editorial accountability. When state outlets model balanced reporting and serve as training grounds for professional standards, they can complement private media rather than compete on biased footing. This rehabilitation supports credible information ecosystems essential for informed citizenship and peaceful social contestation.
• Media responsibility and ethical reporting: Shaping a peaceful future through media demands rigorous verification, contextualized storytelling, and attention to the voices of the marginalized. Reports on rural poverty, informal employment, and gender wage gaps should avoid sensationalism, instead presenting data with sources, sampling methods, and implications for policy. Collaborative journalism formed through partnerships with universities, civil society, and local reporters can deepen coverage of underreported areas and ensure accountability at local and national levels.
Additionally, the following could go a long way in enhancing the reporting of insecurity of the citizenship;
1. Expand access to reliable data: invest in national statistical capacity and data transparency so journalists can chart economic progress and disparities accurately.
2. Support rural and regional reporting hubs: provide training, resources, and safe platforms for reporters in remote areas to chronicle deprivation and service gaps.
3. Protect journalists: strengthen legal protections, safe reporting environments, and remedies for harassment or intimidation.
4. Promote civic media literacy: empower audiences to critically assess information, reducing vulnerability to misrepresentation and reinforcing trust in credible reporting.
When the media illuminate where growth fails to translate into secure livelihoods, governments are pressed to pursue inclusive policies such as public investments in education, health care, infrastructure, fair labour practices, and land and resource equity. Peace is fostered not only by quiet streets but by the visible, verifiable distribution of development gains. A free, fair, and professional press is both an indicator and an instrument of that peace. By embracing media freedom as a pillar of human security, Botswana can strengthen social contracts, reduce vulnerability, and ensure that development’s benefits reach every corner of the nation.
*Keaoleboga Dipogiso is the founder and Executive Director of Labour Policy Experts Botswana. He's also a labour policy consultant and resident political analyst
PICTURE CREDIT: Mmegi
