A Press-ing Issue
There is a popular myth developing that Jacob Zuma's ascent signals a
break with the more authoritarian aspects of President Thabo Mbeki's
tenure, and that his presidency would usher in a new era of openness.
Yet Zuma's troubled relationship with the media militates against
that, as do several laws presently making their way through the
parliamentary process.
If amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Film and Publications Act
and National Key Points Act are enacted, and the Protection of
Information Bill is passed into law, transparency and freedom of
expression – two cornerstones of the open society – will wither on the
vine.
vCoupled with various other threats from Zuma and his allies to the
values enshrined in our Constitution, this package of legislation
harks back to a darker past and bodes ill for democratic governance
under a post-Mbeki administration.
On Tuesday, the Broadcasting Amendment Bill was steamrollered through
the National Assembly by the African National Congress (ANC).
Amendments to the Broadcasting Act were first proposed by the ANC in a
Communications Portfolio Committee meeting in June. Barely two months
later, the National Assembly passed them. Why such unseemly haste? The
reasons are entirely political.
They stem from the ruling party's habit – learnt from their
predecessors in government – of treating the South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) as a political tool and politicising
public institutions that should remain independent of the ruling party
for the survival of constitutional democracy.
If politicians use organs of state to entrench their own power, the
inevitable result is a descent into authoritarian rule. This is
typified by President Robert Mugabe, who has manipulated the electoral
commission, the state broadcaster and the security forces to cling to
power.
When Albert Hertzog was appointed Minister of Posts and Telegraphs in
1958, one of his first deeds was to appoint his friend and political
ally, Piet Meyer, to the chairmanship of the SABC. Meyer had definite
ideas about the sectarian political role the SABC should play in
public life. He explained to the General Council of the Broederbond in
1977: "We must harness all our communication media in a positive way
in order to gather up Afrikaner national political energy in the
struggle for survival in the future ... our members must play a
leading role."
The ANC's approach takes the abuse further. Not only is the SABC
becoming a tool of the ruling party, but of a dominant clique within
the party. The internal feud between opposing camps in the ANC have
seeped into the public broadcaster, and pitted the Board against
senior management.
The SABC had long been manipulated by President Mbeki to promote
himself and to silence, marginalise and discredit his critics, both
inside and outside the party. When a list of nominees for the new SABC
Board was submitted to Parliament in October 2007, ANC MPs timidly
accepted it, despite their reservations about the inclusion of people
whose names, it had emerged, were inserted into the nomination process
through last-minute interventions by the Presidency.
Several months later, after the winds of change at Polokwane, ANC MPs
decided to take issue with a Board they had previously approved. It
would be comforting if the Broadcasting Amendment Bill was a product
of their belated self-assertiveness. In fact, it is not; it is simply
a result of their switched allegiance after Polokwane.
As it stands, the Bill offends against the constitutionally-entrenched
separation of powers, since it confers executive powers on the Speaker
of Parliament to appoint and remove Board members. The fact that the
Speaker is also the Chairperson of the ANC, and a vocal Zuma backer,
means that the hiring and firing of the SABC Board is now in the hands
of a political appointee who is directly accountable and loyal to the
party leader.
The Bill is nothing more than an attempt by ANC MPs to remove the
Board members aligned to Mbeki; to ingratiate themselves with their
new Party president and his supporters; and to pave the way for
further political deployments and dismissals. By supporting this Bill,
ANC MPs have shown themselves to be just as spineless as when they
first agreed to accept Mbeki's hand-picked candidates.
Should it be signed into law, the Bill would sacrifice media freedom
on the altar of political self-interest.
Several other laws threaten to close down the space for free
expression. Amendments to the Film and Publications Act provide for
pre-publication censorship. The Protection of Information Bill
criminalises the publication of "sensitive information", if it is
deemed to threaten the "national interest" and "prejudice the state."
But the "national interest" is broadly and loosely defined – covering,
as it does, such matters as "defence and security plans", "significant
political and economic relations with international organisations and
foreign governments" and "details of criminal investigations."
Meanwhile, amendments to the National Key Points Act would impose a
media blackout on the coverage of strikes, protests, demonstrations,
industrial accidents, criminal attacks or any event that takes place
at any site that has been declared a National Key Point, Strategic
Installation or Place of Importance. Such blanket restrictions make it
impossible for the media to perform its watchdog function, and
frustrate transparent and accountable governance.
All of this reminds me of apartheid laws such as the Publications Act
of 1974, which was used to censor "undesirable" material considered
"prejudicial to the safety of the state, the general welfare or…peace
and good order". Of this current crop of legislation, the Press
Council of South Africa has said: "These laws are contrary to the
constitutional aim of conducting governance in a transparent and open
manner, and require severe amendment".
Yet again, Zuma's ANC is demonstrating that it poses a serious threat
to Constitutional freedoms by passing laws confirming their leader's
stated belief that the ANC is more important than the Constitution. It
is the critical task of the collective opposition to defend these
constitutional freedoms.
Best Wishes
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