Editor,

I believe in calling a spade a spade, not a big spoon. When it comes to Giti (payment made to a journalist to write a story) let’s truthfully call it a bribe rather than per diem. As little as people may know, Giti is a form of corruption that is influenced by either sources of news or journalists in person. This hidden habit slowly eats away at the ethics of many journalists who have even reached the point of never covering stories without receiving payment from a source.

Journalist or no journalist, anyone would be doubtful about their level of professionalism as they disband these petty cash gifts. These simply corrupt a journalist and a company’s professionalism as its against the Media Ethics laws.

However, the only way in which this habit will be stopped is if people started investing in the media so that journalists stopped scheming for leftovers at the door steps of companies. Also, journalists should never become so low as to be corrupted by little money that can only buy a few bottles of soda!

Fionah Kamikazi
Kigali