Members of parliament question MINALOC on why the Media is being neglected

By The Inspirer.

Members of Parliament from the Governance and Gender Equality Committee told the Minister of Local Government (MINALOC), Dr. Mugenzi Patrice, that they do not understand how the media in Rwanda appears to be neglected by all sectors, despite its significant contribution to the country’s development.

They pointed out that the new media policy, which is expected to address the longstanding issues in the sector, has been in preparation for a long time, yet no authority has taken decisive action to finalize and implement it.

They raised these concerns on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, during discussions with the Ministry of Local Government, focusing on issues highlighted in the 2023-2024 report by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB).

Among the issues revealed by RGB’s research on the level of media development in Rwanda (Rwanda Media Barometer 2024/RMB) were insufficient financial resources in media, the low professionalism of some journalists, the small number of female journalists, and the inadequate use of the Kinyarwanda language.

Hon. Mukabalisa Germaine stated, “The latest RMB survey showed that women in the profession make up 35.8%. Gender-based violence against women in the media is at an alarmingly high level.”

The MP noted that as the years go by, Rwanda’s media continues to stagnate while other sectors progress.

He said, “There are issues with journalists not having employment contracts; as the years pass, the media has made no progress whatsoever.”

Hon. Mukabalisa added that during discussions with the Rwanda Media Commission (RMC), the MPs were told that there are problems within the media that the Commission lacks the capacity to resolve, although the relevant authorities could address them.

He stated, “[RMC] does not even have the power to shut down media outlets that perform poorly because the law does not permit it.”

He mentioned that many journalists in Rwanda are living under poor conditions because their employment contracts are either not honored or they have none at all.

Implementation of the New Media Policy Continues to Be Questioned

Hon. Mvano Nsabimana Etienne remarked, “We discussed the media policy with both RGB and RMC, and we were wondering about the proliferation of media outlets without proper oversight.”

He noted that RGB informed the MPs that issues relating to the media policy are not within their purview.

RGB stated, “We are responsible for promoting the media and providing advice, but we do not have authority over its policies.”

Hon. Mvano asked the Minister of Local Government, “Then, honorable Minister, who are we supposed to hold accountable? The media and the existing regulatory authority are not being supervised.”

Minister Dr. Mugenzi Patrice explained that the media is no longer under the responsibility of his ministry; instead, it has been transferred to the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), which is now responsible for addressing its related issues.

The MPs were not satisfied with this explanation.

Hon. Gihana Donatha asked Minister Dr. Mugenzi, “Honorable Minister, based on your response it seems as though the media is not our concern. Since it is placed within MINALOC, where does the media policy belong? Under which ministry, if not the Ministry of Local Government?”

Minister Dr. Mugenzi Patrice emphasized that media-related issues fall under RGB, which also submits reports to the Office of the President of the Republic.

He assured the public representatives that he would discuss the issues affecting the media with the responsible authorities to resolve them.

He agreed that the prolonged delay in approving the new media policy would be addressed with the Minister in the Presidency of the Republic, Uwizeye Judith.

He stated that the policy was designed to tackle the evident challenges in the sector and will not be delayed any further in its implementation.

The RGB report for 2023 revealed that none of Rwanda’s media outlets have their own premises—85.7% are renting, while 14.3% do not have offices.

While 44.5% of journalists receive salaries below 200,000 Rwandan francs per month, the report shows that this amount is insufficient for them to perform their jobs properly.

It was revealed that 42.9% of media outlets provide employment contracts to their staff, while 28.6% contribute to employee provident funds—an amount equivalent to the monthly leave allowance provided to employees annually.

The report further showed that only 28.6% of media outlets pay their employees salaries commensurate with their revenue.

Additionally, the report revealed that about 78% of journalists hold a bachelor’s degree in various fields, while 63.8% have studied media.

In 2023-2024, RGB conducted its fifth study on the level of media development in Rwanda (Rwanda Media Barometer 2024, RMB), which showed that Rwanda’s media development level stands at 76.7%.