ACCESS TO INFORMATION - "The Citizen" on October 25 reported that the National Council of Provinces was taking to the Internet to keep provincial legislators and the public up to date on its activities and its legislation. "NCOP Online!" was launched in Parliament by NCOP chairperson Naledi Pandor, USAid director Stacy Rhodes and Microsoft Corporation's Sibonela Ngubane. The service integrates worldwide web and other communications technologies to link Parliament to the provincial legislatures and local government associations, while making all information simultaneously available to the public. Anyone with an Internet connection will be able to access the service and it may be used to make submissions directly to NCOP committees. It will provide instant access to Bills, committee and public hearing schedules, Parliament's programmes and other legislative information. The project was undertaken jointly by the NCOP and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs under a grant from the US Agency for International Development, with software donated by Microsoft. The website address is http://www.parliament.gov.za

ACCESS TO INFORMATION - The Commission on Gender Equality on October 25 called for an amendment to the proposed Nuclear Energy Bill to allow greater access to information on potential nuclear accidents or risks. "Sowetan" reported that in its submission, the Commission said while the Government was committed to transparency and openness, the proposed legislation still prevented anyone who becomes aware of a nuclear accident from informing the public of the risk. It also makes it an offence to alert people to any nuclear risk. The Commission called on the Government to amend the legislation in keeping with the freedom of information provisions contained in the Open Democracy Bill, currently being considered by Parliament. "The law should be amended to include a clause confirming the responsibility of the Government and the industry to ensure proactive disclosure of information which would be in the interest of the public", stated the Commission. "Sowetan" stated that as the Bill stands, a person may face criminal charges if the disclosure of such information was likely to jeopardise the physical security of any nuclear installation. The Bill also states that no member of the board or a committee of the board, or any employee may disclose information that they may have gathered in the performance of their duties. A person can only make disclosure of potential health risks if the person acts in good faith believing that there is a genuine threat to public safety. The disclosure of such information can be made to a Parliamentary committee or provincial legislature, the Public Protector, the Human Rights Commission, the Auditor-General, the national director of or a director of public prosecutions, the minister and the regulatory nuclear body. The burden of proof would lie with the person who makes the information public.

COMMUNITY BROADCASTING - On October 25, "The Citizen" reported that the Christian community radio station, Radio Adullam would be forced to closed down at the end of October because the Independent Broadcasting Authority has turned down its application to a permanent licence. According to "The Citizen" the station started broadcasting 14 hours a day on a temporary licence in November 1995, bringing Christian programmes in English, Afrikaans and Zulu to an estimated 50 000 listeners. Radio Abdullam chairperson Dave Mitchell said the IBA's rejection of the application for a four year broadcast licence was totally unexpected. "We feel that it is unfair of the IBA to inform us of their decision two months after our public hearing and only eight days before our licence expires". Mitchell said this gave them little time to object. Association of Christian Broadcasters Southern Africa chairperson Reverend Martin Frische said this was a test case for the future of Christian broadcasting in South Africa. He said government should assist community broadcasting instead of discouraging it. "Forcing a station like Radio Adullam to close down without giving it a chance to comply with certain conditions is discouraging for community broadcasters at large," he said. The IBA had informed the station that it would give its reasons for turning down the application at a later stage.

LEGISLATION - "The Star" on October 28 reported that a chapter dealing with the media has been dropped from the latest draft of a law aimed to at eradicating unfair discrimination and racism, following an outcry over the threat these provisions represented to freedom of expression. According to the newspaper, the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Bill, tabled in Parliament on October 27, still outlaws the publication or broadcast of any information indicating an intention to discriminate unfairly and prohibits the use of certain derogatory words. However, a provision giving the minister of communication the power to issue guidelines to ensure the media complies with the law has been excised , together with provisions banning the publication in the media of propaganda, ideas or theories based on racial stereotypes. A provision barring the publication of personal details about any person concerning any of the prohibited grounds for discrimination has also been dropped. The list of prohibited words has been narrowed down to "kaffir", "kaffirmeid", "coolie", "hotnot", and their variations. The previous draft also prohibited the words "boer" and "bobbejaan". The definition of unfair discrimination has been amended to allow for affirmative action, while HIV and economic status have been dropped from the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination. The bill bans unfair discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth or any other recognised ground. It covers employment, education, health care, accommodation, land and property, insurance, pensions, goods services and facilities, clubs and sport and the professions. It also provides for the designation of magistrates and judges as presiding officers in special Equality Courts to adjudicate disputes. The courts are empowered to grant interdicts or other orders, award damages or demand an apology from a defendant. The defence against a charge of unfair discrimination is to prove the discrimination was reasonable and justifiable. The bill is one of a trio which have to come into effect before February 4 in terms of a constitutional deadline.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION - The Greater Johannesburg region of the African National Congress on October 25 suspended a Soweto councillor, Trevor Ngwane, from three prominent positions that he holds: ANC chairperson of the Northern sub-region, deputy chairperson of Pimville's ANC branch and chairperson of the town-planning committee. The suspension is as a result of an article that Ngwane wrote in the "Sunday World", opposing the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council's controversial Igoli 2002 plan. The plan involves the commercialisation and privatisation of the GJMC's services, and is opposed by several unions, political and community organisations on the basis that it will lead to services such as water, electricity and sanitation becoming increasingly unaffordable. Ngwane wrote the article based on his experiences as councillor for Pimville. FXI in a statement called on the GJANC to drop their actions against Ngwane immediately and to uphold his right to freedom of expression, and by extension, the right to free expression of his constituency. Also to uphold his role as a democratically elected representative of the residents of Pimville. Meanwhile, thousands of SA Municipal Workers Union on October 26 marched in protest against the Igoli plan. Samwu declared a dispute with the council three weeks ago over what it termed the "unilateral implementation of the Igoli 2002 city restructuring plan". Hlubi Piyana, Samwu's Greater Johannesburg secretary said the demonstration was to express the workers' opposition to the implementation of the plan. He said: "Samwu and Imatu support local government restructuring. We, however, believe that genuine negotiations and transparency about restructuring initiatives should be premised on understanding, discussions with the community and clear agreements". Workers called on the council to immediately stop its unilateral implementation of the plan because it would not deliver to historically disadvantaged communities who constituted the majority in the city.

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