ACCESS TO INFORMATION - The Mpumalanga provincial legislature once again on October 13 barred the public from tabling written questions in portfolio committee sessions. The ruling was made by the committee of chairpersons and was confirmed by the committee's chairperson Thoko Mabena. Finance portfolio committee chair, Lassy Chiwayo, announced that legislature had decided to revoke the right when he refused to accept questions on donor fraud in the Premier's Office. "All questions should be put directly to MECs or officials in future or should be asked at press conferences," Chiwayo said. The written questions requested an update on police and government investigations into the alleged theft of over R1-million in donor funds by former Premier Mathews Phosa's special advisor Pieter Roo. The alleged abuse was first uncovered by a written media question to the same committee in February 1999. Neither Chiwayo nor Mabena, were able to give a reason for the banning. Both the press and public in Mpumalanga have been able to table written questions to portfolio committee chairpersons for immediate reply by government officials since late 1994. The only limitations on the questions have been that they should be directly relevant to the subject being discussed and should be approved as "fair" by the committee itself. Last year, the provincial portfolio committee on public works rejected an attempt by journalists to table questions during the committee's sessions. This followed a written question from requesting details of a threatened multi-million rand damages suit against the provincial government by German aviation giant Daimler Benz. Journalists covering the committee meeting also tried to ask questions about the province's irregular purchase of ten luxury BMWs. Government officials consistently refused to answer media questions relating to both these issues. The African Eye News Service said it was concerned that established rights of press freedom and access to information have been eroded with the decision. FXI said in a statement that the move was extremely disturbing and appeared to dilute the legislature's constitutional obligation to hold government accountable. "To allow questions to be asked of the MEC and not the committees inverts the transparency and accountability regime outlined in the constitution. While both the legislature and the executive should be transparent, the legislature and its committees must be more so." FXI has written to the Chairperson's Committee to obtain further clarity on this matter .

ACCESS TO INFORMATION - "Sunday Times on October 17 reported that parliament was planning to extend the scope of the Open Democracy Bill to give the public power to force business to disclose information such as the salaries they pay and how they make decisions on price increases. Banks also could be forced to disclose reasons for turning down loan applications but the Cabinet has ordered the Bill's drafters to exclude it from having to disclose anything. Johnny de Lange, chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee said the Bill's provisions would be extended to include public access to privately held information. This would allow individuals , trade unions and consumer and community organisations to gain access to information often withheld by corporations. The disclosure of some Cabinet information had been included in earlier drafts of the Bill, until the Cabinet instructed the drafters that it should have a blanket exclusion. Even in the earlier version, although the Cabinet was not excluded, sensitive government information remained protected through a detailed set of exclusions, which are still contained in the new draft, include information which may: interfere with law enforcement; harm the security of the state or international relations; or jeopardise the financial welfare of the country or the government's attempts to manage the economy. Dene Smuts, Democratic Party representative on the committee said the DP would fight to have the Cabinet reinstated within the ambit of the Bill. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa, one of the 10 NGO's campaigning around the Bill said: "The question is whether the information deserves exemption. Under a blanket exclusion there'll be loads of things that the public will not be able to see".

PRESS FREEDOM - On October 19, "Sowetan" commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the banning of its predecessors, "The World" and "Weekend World", along with 19 other black organisations by the previous National Party government. In commemorating October 1977, "Sowetan"held its 10th annual Media Freedom Day seminar in Johannesburg where the newspaper's Journalist of the Year was announced. The seminar held under the theme "The Media under Siege" was attended by more than 100 people, including media practitioners, journalists and journalism students. Addressing delegates "Sowetan" editor Mike Siluma said journalists, especially in the Southern Africa should cooperate in highlighting the challenges facing communities that were still struggling for democracy in the region. He said the fight for press freedom could not be separated from the fight for individual freedom and democracy. "Where the media is not free we cannot talk about freedom of citizens." Journalists from Zimbabwe and Angola used the occasion to highlight the problems faced by the media in their countries. Group parliamentary editor of Independent Newspapers Zubeida Jaffer called on media companies to invest in the training of their journalists to improve their ability to interrogate and dig deeper into issues. Meanwhile, social and welfare reporter Charity Bhengu was chosen the "Sowetan" Journalist of the year. Bhengu won R5000 and a two week trip to Zimbabwe to work for the Zimbabwean Independent Newspapers. This is the second time that Bhengu has won the coveted prize which is run annually by "Sowetan" to commemorate Media Freedom Day.

PRESS FREEDOM - South African Press Agency on October 20 reported that the international news agency, Reuters, has suspended its television operation in Cape Town, after reviewing threatening telephone calls its staff have received in recent months. The agency's Johannesburg office said on October 19 the threats had raised serious concern about the security of staff. But Reuters, did not describe the nature of the threats or mention who had made them. The agency said the suspension affected only its Cape Town television news office, and it was taking steps to provide video coverage of Cape Town through other means. The decision to suspend television operations was taken by senior managers in London. FXI in a statement said it was deeply disturbed by the closure and that it was a significant setback for freedom of expression in the Western Cape especially, which was already a very difficult environment for journalists to operate in, given the levels of violence. " Journalists have found themselves between a rock and a hard place in the province, attracting threats if reports fall foul of anonymous individuals, and risking pressure from the authorities to reveal sources or hand over information if it may help in investigations of ongoing violence. These latest events will undoubtedly make journalists' working lives even more difficult, leading to a chilling effect on reportage as journalists may fear being issued with similar threats," FXI said.

PRESS FREEDOM - On October 22, the South African Press Agency reported that New Africa Investments Limited co-founder Jonty Sandler took out newspaper advertisements on October 21 to quell speculation over his efforts to stop reports that he was allegedly being investigated on charges of sodomy. Sandler's public declaration in several newspapers follows an urgent application on October 2 for an interdict to prevent the Cape based "Sunday Argus" and the Durban newspaper the "Sunday Tribune" from publishing an article reacting to the alleged investigation. The successful application saw the story being withdrawn at the 11th hour. It prevented publication of all matters relating to the case, except that the application had been brought and that the story related to sexual assault charges being investigated against Sandler. It allowed publication of the fact that a warrant had been issued for his arrest, that Sandler denied the charges and that his attorneys had asked the director of public prosecutions to withdraw the charges. Sandler said in the advert that he and his legal representatives had chosen not to respond to reports on the investigation so as not to interfere with the administrative and judicial process. He did, however state that the articles in the two Sunday papers had contained untrue, defamatory and sensation-seeking remarks. "I wish to make it clear that no charges have been put to me and I have not appeared in court. If I am ever charged and prosecuted, I am confident that I will be completely vindicated, as I have not committed any offence whatsoever".

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