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Christina Meetoo

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Debate idea for media houses for the by-elections of #18

14/12/2017 By christina Leave a Comment

Today, I posted this on Facebook:

I offer this idea to all media houses: please organise a different type of debate with the candidates.

One where a voter of the constituency is randomly selected from the voter roll of each ward to ask questions to the candidates. If people decline, just keep on with the random selection until you find those who are willing to participate.

One where you collect questions from the voters of the constituency and select the ones which get more upvotes and those themes which are more relevant to the constituency.

One where candidates are NOT allowed to talk about their opponents at all and are only allowed to talk about what they intend to do as opposition MP for the constituency:

– how they plan to interact with all those they will represent once in parliament (including partisans and non-partisans – and this should not just be about the weekly meetings which will definitely attract mostly partisans, thus skewing the whole process)

– what type of questions they will raise about the constituency when in parliament (why not ask them what their 3 first PQs would be?)

– how they plan to report back to the inhabitants on the answers they have received and the follow-up they plan to do

Because, we’ve already heard it all about the reasons for their engagement with a particular party as opposed to another one, their current positioning wrt current national issues, their scathing criticism towards their opponents (also known as yesterday’s and tomorrow’s potential friends)…

Please feel free to use my ideas because I am a voter in Quatre-Bornes and I think this would allow me to make, not necessarily the better choice, but at least make up my mind about the one who has the highest probability of being a better MP for QB than the others.

In the comments, I also added:

Since there’s not much time left, why not organise a joint exercise in a neutral venue for once? Maybe at the Media Trust?

(…) the point is that any voice should have the same probability of being heard, not just ‘expert voices’, a category where people tend to think of people of our socioeconomic class only.

Filed Under: Information, Mauritius, New Media, Politics, Press, Society Tagged With: debate, elections, ideas, journalism, Mauritius, media, MP, parliament, quatre-bornes, voters

Transcription of live tweet session on the State of Right to Information in Mauritius

18/10/2017 By christina Leave a Comment

The State of the Right to Information in Mauritius in 2017
Transcription of live tweet session
organised by the African Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)
with Christina Meetoo (@christinameetoo) and Abdoollah Earally (@AbdEarally)

Hashtag #AccessToInfo
This live tweet session was held on Tuesday 17 October 2017 from 15.00 to 16.30 (Mauritian time)

Tweets have been slightly edited for punctuation and typos.

For more information, read the full report and the Mauritius country report at: https://www.christinameetoo.com/2017/10/17/report-on-the-state-of-access-to-information-in-africa-2017/

Mauritius country report of State of Right to Information 2017

AFIC‏ @AFIC1
Question 1. @christinameetoo Which are the guarantees for ATI in Mauritius, at national and international level?

Christina Meetoo @christinameetoo:

  • There is no law on access to information in #Mauritius, thus no specific guarantee for access to information in Mauritius.
  • There is only a clause on freedom of expression in Constitution to guarantee freedom to receive & impart ideas and information.
  • This freedom is curtailed by restrictions linked to national security, privacy, public morality, public safety, health, etc.
  • And there’s an Official Secrets Act & a Human Resource Manual which prohibit civil servants from sharing information without authorisation.
  • In 2005 and 2015, winning coalitions have promised to introduce legislation on freedom of information (but not in 2010).
  • In 2013, government appointed consultant Geoffrey Robertson proposed FOI legislation, reform of media laws & media self-regulation.
  • In January 2016, Cabinet announced that a bill on FOI was being prepared.
  • In March 2016, the ACHPR country report committed to introduce FOI legislation, suggesting that the State Law Office is working on a draft.
  • But, there is little visibility so far on progress made.

Sarah‏ @sarahfkiw:
How far has this bill been? Why has it not yet been signed? #SDG16 #accesstoinformation #Mauritius #IDUAI @Gilbertsendugwa

Christina Meetoo @christinameetoo:

  • No bill has been presented yet. We are assuming that the State Law Office is working on a draft bill but we have no further information.
  • FOI legislation is very difficult step for political parties as it could result in constant scrutiny & questioning by mass media & citizens.
  • Our political parties are not used full transparency.

[Read more…] about Transcription of live tweet session on the State of Right to Information in Mauritius

Filed Under: Information, Mauritius, Politics, Press, Society Tagged With: access to information, africa freedom of information centre, freedom of information, Mauritius, media, Press, right to information

Report on the State of Access to Information in Africa 2017

17/10/2017 By christina 1 Comment

The Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) has published the Report on the State of Right to Information in Africa 2017 in the context of SDG 16.10.2. The full report which covers 23 African countries is available at: here and the summary version here.

I have contributed to the report by writing the country report for Mauritius. If you wish to read it, here is the country report.

Filed Under: Information, Mauritius, Politics, Press, Society Tagged With: access to information, africa freedom of information centre, freedom of information, Mauritius, right to information

After Rutnah and Rahim, what next?

22/09/2017 By christina Leave a Comment

For those of you who have followed the political highlights in Mauritius, I believe that the lesson of the week is “Make haste slowly”. This is valid both for our politicians (“think twice before speaking nonsense”) and our media (“thoroughly investigate your sources before publishing”). As well as for ourselves, as commentators in the very public social media sphere. There’s always more than meets the eye. Both may have valid starting points (for one anger at press coverage, for the other incriminating evidence), but clearly both have failed to handle themselves properly.

In this age of quick bucks, quick communication, quick impact, quick everything, how can we build a sustainable livelihood together?

It is high time that the Morgan and Robertson reports be really examined with a level-headed, rational attitude.
For those who may not remember, Robertson made 3 broad recommendations:

  • Review of dated laws which affect the media (and communication in general) such as sedition, defamation, publication of false news.
  • Introduction of self-regulation of the media by a Media Commission under a revamped Media Trust
  • Introduction of Freedom of Information Legislation

The nitty-gritty details of some of his proposals may be subject to discussion but my personal opinion is that overall, these seem to be fair and balanced recommendations as they open the gates of FOI and advocate self-introspection for media.

Next week, there will be a launching of a report on access to information at the eLearning Africa Conference for the International Day for Universal Access to Information. I have contributed to the report for Mauritius and I can say that FOI seems to be on the way although more efforts need to be put in to lobby for it. Sooner or later, it will come because the State has made official commitments to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.

However, self-regulation does not seem to be on the agenda anywhere for the media. It is high time that it be.

To read more about FOI and media self-regulation:
Preliminary report by Geoffrey Robertson QC
Interview in Defi Media: Les politiciens et la presse jouent au muppet show
L’après Christiana Chery: pour une instance de co-régulation des médias
A Gender Code of Ethics for the Media
Media Ethics and Regulations. Insights from Africa
Some publications on FOI and media self-regulation
Workshop on Freedom of Information
Une interview non publiée sur la liberté d’information
Why do we need Freedom of Information?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ATI, FOI, Mauritius, media, Press, self-regulation

Interview dans Le Défi Quotidien: Les politiciens et la presse

20/08/2017 By christina Leave a Comment

Cette interview a été publiée dans Le Défi Quotidien le 15 août 2017

Elle ne s’étonne guère de la montée d’adrénaline de certains politiciens à l’égard de la presse qui joue, volontairement, ce petit jeu. Pour Christina Chan-Meetoo, chargée de cours en communication à l’Université de Maurice, ce n’est rien de moins qu’un Muppet Show, mais de mauvais goût.

Comment expliquer cette montée d’adrénaline de la part de nos politiciens ces derniers temps ?
C’est un phénomène qui n’est pas nouveau à Maurice. Sous tous les gouvernements, on a vécu cette montée d’adrénaline, mais cette posture n’est pas le seul apanage des gouvernants, mais également de l’opposition du jour. C’est comme le jeu du chat et de la souris, c’est un rythme de notre paysage médiatique. Je ne connais aucun régime où il n’y a pas eu de querelles entre journalistes et politiciens. C’est comme une télénovela qui devient lassante avec le temps, car on nous ressert le même menu à chaque fois. Il faut reconnaître qu’il n’y a jamais eu d’arrestations après ces échanges, mais cela relevait plus de la confrontation verbale, on brûle les journaux par exemple.

Nos politiciens n’accepteraient pas des questions dites dérangeantes ?
Agir de la sorte fait partie de l’ADN des Mauriciens. Pousser les politiciens fait partie du rôle des médias et c’est de la pub gratuite, une manne tombée du ciel, si les politiciens réagissent mal à certaines questions. Je le répète, on en a assez, car on n’est pas au stade d’une démocratie mature. Il faut que les médias aillent plus loin au lieu de rester cloîtrés dans la confrontation. Quand quelqu’un devient leader, il ne peut être totalement transparent, car il devient un autocrate en puissance. Il faudrait plutôt s’engager dans des débats non-passionnels. On constate qu’ici, on s’amuse, on se délecte des confrontations.

Un show, selon vous ?
C’est un show pathétique joué par les deux camps, c’est presque du Muppet Show ou un retour au cirque romain que jouent les politiciens et la presse. La presse aime bien les phrases assassines, cela fait vendre.

Est-ce dans la normalité des choses qu’un ministre choisisse quels titres de presse peuvent couvrir ses activités officielles ?
Si tel est le cas, il n’est pas normal qu’un ministre porte son choix sur tel ou tel titre de presse, car les journalistes partagent tous la même carte de presse officielle.

Parlons des cellules de communication des ministres. C’est presque toujours un silence assourdissant de leur part. Paradoxal ?
Si les responsables de communication des ministres ont choisi de faire l’impasse sur des informations et agissent de façon délibérée, on n’y peut rien. Ce sont des choix stratégiques. Aucun gouvernement au monde n’a une cellule de communication parfaite. Il y a une tendance mondiale où il y a des personnes dans des postes de responsabilité qui ne sont pas prêtes à jouer la transparence. Par exemple, Donald Trump choisit des questions venant des journalistes de son choix. Heureusement qu’on est dans une ère où les informations sont disponibles sur plusieurs plateformes.

Ce qui n’est pas le cas du contenu des accords et contrats signés par le gouvernement, comme le Metro Express…
Pour ce qui est du Metro Express, la demande de transparence est légitime de la part du public qui a besoin d’une transparence. Mais, techniquement et légalement, les gouvernants n’ont aucune obligation de rendre publiques ces informations avec l’absence d’une Freedom of Information Act. En revanche, une tonne d’informations formelles sont disponibles volontairement sur des sites de certains ministères et organismes parapublics mais qui ne sont pas très user friendly, il faut le reconnaître. On doit juste savoir fouiller, dénicher et décoder les documents en PDF. C’est assez étonnant dans le contexte dans lequel nous vivons.

Dans ces cas-là également, il y a le choix volontaire des gouvernants de décider des informations qu’ils veulent bien vendre au public. Cela ne s’apparente-t-il pas à de la tricherie ?
Tant qu’on n’aura pas cette Freedom of Information Act, il faut faire avec, faute de mieux. J’estime qu’il est temps d’interroger le système et revoir le manuel des fonctionnaires et l’Official Secrets Act.

On en parle depuis des lustres de cette Information of Freedom Act. Y a-t-il une volonté politique pour aller dans ce sens ?
Il faut reconnaître qu’il y a eu une petite avancée en termes de volonté politique. Le gouvernement est signataire de l’African Commission for Human and People Rights qui est sous l’égide de l’Union africaine (UA). Le Conseil des ministres de ce gouvernement a fait savoir dans un document officiel que Maurice s’engage à introduire une Freedom of Information Act. Il est également fait mention qu’une ébauche est en préparation, sûrement par le Parquet. Les États-membres ont le devoir de soumettre un rapport chaque cinq ans pour faire savoir si les choses bougent dans la bonne direction.

N’est-ce pas simplement pour épater la galerie ?
Le document envoyé à l’Union africaine fait mention, noir sur blanc, que Maurice s’achemine vers cette loi et c’est la première fois que ce move a l’air sérieux. Année après année, régime après régime, tous promettent cette Information of Freedom Act dans leur manifeste électoral. Toutefois, il y a un bémol : avec une telle législation, il nous faut des fonctionnaires formés et préparés pour jouer le jeu démocratique.

Qu’en sera-t-il des informations dites confidentielles ?
Il y a des informations sur la vie privée et la sécurité nationale qui vont demeurer confidentielles, et c’est tant mieux. Mais, toujours est-il qu’on note des progrès dans le bon sens. Comme toute loi est appelée à évoluer, la Freedom of Information Act ne dérogera pas à cette règle, comme l’Afrique du Sud qui considère actuellement quelles informations sont de nature confidentielle et pas.

On n’échappe pas au tri au millimètre près…
Un tri est obligatoire, sinon on pourrait voir étalées sur la place publique des données privées. Prenons l’exemple d’un drone qui vole au-dessus d’un quartier résidentiel. Sait-on qui le pilote et pour quel motif ? Si une personne est en petite tenue chez elle, ce drone a-t-il le droit de capter l’image ? Cela friserait du voyeurisme. Car, un drone est l’équivalent d’une récolte d’informations. Il faut des balises.

Quand on parle de la Freedom of Information Act, est-ce que cela va de pair avec la régulation de la presse ?
Mon souhait serait qu’il y a la liberté de l’information et un dépoussiérage du rapport Robertson. Il parle d’autorégulation de la presse. Que constatons-nous ? On guérit les symptômes mais jamais les causes. Même si la presse n’est pas un produit commercial comme un autre, elle doit s’exposer à de l’autocritique pour s’améliorer et mettre en pratique un code d’éthique, pas uniquement pour la galerie.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: FOI, ile maurice, Mauritius, media, presse, self-regulation

Interview in News on Sunday

30/07/2017 By christina Leave a Comment

This interview was published on 25th July 2017 in News on Sunday.

Why did Mauritius fail to bring unity in the country after 50 years of Independence?
It would be unfair and simplistic to say that Mauritius has totally failed in terms of unity of the country. In comparison with other countries which have experienced colonial rule, the more so from two different empires, and also for a country which has such a diverse ethno-religious demographic composition, we have fared quite well. Our success has been hailed by various external observers as nothing short of a miracle with our relative social, political and economic stability.

Having said that, there have obviously been some dramatic episodes in our history, some of which are the 1960s riots, the economic and social crises of the 1970s and the 1999 riots. There are some inherent tensions coupled with social taboos which are still pervasive within our society. Our national identity is still an unfinished business, a work in progress which moves on surprisingly well at times and, at others, is hampered by regressive reflexes which bring some of us back to cavemen habits.

What is the part played by politics based on communalism for producing such a chaotic situation?
“Communalism” as we call it here is really a synonym for racism, for intolerance amongst different community groups, based in Mauritius primarily on ethno-religious and casteist belonging. In all societies, human beings tend to try to stay within their respective group where they feel safe, protected and valued.

In Mauritius, so-called representatives of these groups make vociferous claims about a share of the national cake and broker their so-called following with politicians during electoral campaigns and at other crucial political rendez-vous. The official (i.e. parliament) as well as the unofficial (i.e. composition of ministerial cabinet and state organs) political systems of representation are such that this ethno-religious brokering is pervasive and almost inescapable.

The best loser system is but one part of the problem which our courts still have to solve and this is a big quandary. In a sense, some could argue that removing the BLS entails the risk of a less diverse representation in parliament, which would hurt minorities. The fact is that even if we were to keep the BLS, we know that its application is based on an outdated census and thus does not guarantee true representation according to current demographics. More importantly, if we really want to uproot communalism, we need to tackle the issue on all fronts to change mindsets and that is a tall order, but not impossible.

Why are Mauritians far from being patriotic? Did our schools fail in promoting such values as love for the Motherland?
Again, I would hesitate to say that on average Mauritians are not altogether patriotic. We all love our country and I think that, with what’s happening elsewhere, the average Mauritian feels lucky to be living here.

It is true to say though that we could do with a more civic mindset and that does not have to encompass grandiose statements and constantly brandishing visible signs of patriotism. I deeply feel that we need to inculcate the notion that we are all on the same ship and we need to cooperate, at home, at work, on our streets and, as you say, schools are key in this endeavour, though they cannot be the only institution to be expected to do so. We really need to get our kids to learn how to work in teams which are diverse in terms of socio-economic and ethno-religious backgrounds as well as in terms of academic levels, skills and competencies. We need to stop mindlessly pitching them against each other. Which does not mean that competition should not exist; what I mean is that competition should be fair and healthy. We also need to stop this cancer of private mass tuition which is turning our kids into drones.

The other thing which worries me is the rich ghetto attitude which is becoming popular with the well-to-do, in more and more aspects of their lives: housing and school choices, socialising and consumption patterns, etc.

Why intellectuals play the role of Pilate- at washing their hands when it comes to talk and help at bringing everybody together?
I don’t know which intellectuals you are referring to. In Mauritius, there is a misguided notion that if you attended a star school and foreign university (ideally with a PhD), have a top job and can make an articulate comment in the public sphere, you automatically become an intellectual or an expert. To be an intellectual, you have to go through multiple levels of reflection and be servant only to rationality based on facts. And, as new evidence come up, you have to be able to revise your opinion, not be a dogmatic myopic utterer of one-liners.
The intellectuals of this nation are not necessarily the ones which you hear or see regularly and this is undoubtedly a flaw in our system. I have come across little real and deep rational thinking and behaviour in the public sphere thus far. Instead, I have seen more and more people who use their silver tongue to build their personal brands and leverage a “position” in society.

What I do see however is that on the grassroots level, there are real people who are doing their part and these deserve to be given more attention than the former. Change is happening slowly. At times, one feels despair at the apathy of people. At others, one feels positively surprised by a number of individuals who do so much with very little.

Can Mauritius make a new start after 50 Years to build another image?
As I have said earlier, our national identity is a work in progress and I prefer to stay optimistic that we can make great progress as we have proved to be quite resilient and resourceful when needed. For me, our artists and writers are actually the real beacons of hope as they continue to create amazing stuff and often testify to our really unique identity, often despite many structural constraints.

Any other comment or information related to Independence- 50 Years after is most welcome
The conference which is being held at the University is a very interesting opportunity to open up our minds and try to listen and understand the analyses which are being proposed by both local and foreign researchers who have studied various aspects of our country: our constitution, our media, our social and ethnic identity, our economy, etc. We also have interesting comparative approaches from our keynote and lead speakers which can help us contextualise our reading of Mauritius with respect to the African continent, other comparable island states and the rest of the world.
As organisers, my colleagues Ramola Ramtohul, Roukaya Kasenally and myself have deliberately chosen to keep the panel presentations and round table open and free (on a first come first served basis) to members of the general public as a contribution to our national celebrations. We feel that academia has a duty to disseminate knowledge and engage in constructive dialogues about our collective identity and well-being and conferences like this one offer exceptional opportunities for such sharing.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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