This is the tenth report compiled by FXI’s researcher, Mr Ikle Hloka. The report covers the period 20 to 31 October 1997. This report was made possible with the financial assistance of the European Union Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa (EUFHR). Views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official position of the  EUFHR in South Africa.

This report covers the latest effort by the government to implement one of the COMTASK recommendation, namely, the setting up of a government communication  structure the Government Communication Information Service (GCIS).
 

Government Communications

Background

The government is finally beginning to implement the recommendations of the Task Group on Government Communications (COMTASK). This task group was appointed by Deputy president Thabo Mbeki in 1994 to look at the state of government communication. The task group was charged with four responsibilities, namely:  reviewing, defining, researching and making recommendations on various aspects of government communications. The task group was asked to review the following aspects: (i) The existing government communications policy at national, provincial and local level,
(ii) The existing government communications structures and facilities at national, provincial and local level,
(iii) The relationship between government communications functions at national, provincial and local level, and
(iv) Ownership and control of the South African media and how it affected government’s communication.

The task group was also mandated to define existing information delivery mechanisms.  Most importantly the group was mandated to conduct research on government communications policies, functions and structures in other democracies, with special emphasis on developing countries. Lastly, the group was asked to make recommendations on all these aspects of  its work.

One of the recommendations of the Task Group was that the existing structure responsible for government communication, namely the South African Communication Service (SACS), be restructured or overhauled or be replaced by a completely new structure to be called the Government Communication and Information Service (GCIS). This structure, the task group recommended should be accountable to the presidency.

Latest developments
The GCIS was to have three components looking specifically at media liaison, a communication service agency and provincial liaison. The GCIS was charged with the responsibility of opening  up communication channels between the government and the public. It was also charged with the responsibility of providing mechanisms to make access to information easy.

Setting up of GCIS and the implementation of the Open Democracy Bill

The setting up of the GCIS must be seen as an important development which should help in the implementation of the Open Democracy Bill. The Bill has as its primary objective the granting of rights of access to information held by the government. Once passed into law, the Bill will be implemented primarily by government departments.  The Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has been given the responsibility of assisting ordinary courts, which are secondary mechanisms for implementation of the Bill. However the funding for the SAHRC in implementing this law is not clearl. It may be advisable for the office of the duputy president Thabo Mbeki, which is responsible for the implementation of the COMTASK recommendations,  to start thinking seriously about the role of the GCIS in the implementation of the Bill, particularly since the SAHRC acknowledged earlier this year that it did not have sufficient funds. It is important that the ODB be provided with sufficient infrastructure. It is therefore suggested here that the new structure, GCIS, shoulder some of the responsibility on  the implementation of the Bill.
With the setting up of the GCIS it is important that the question of accessibility to government information be raised. While some champions of this new government communication dispensation acknowledge the importance of this body meeting the information needs of "traditionally disadvantaged sectors , such as people living in remote and rural areas, people who cannot read or write, people with disability and others who are information-deprived",  there is still a need to clarify what role is this body will play in the implementation of the ODB. This is one of the most daunting challenge facing the new body.

Legislation infringing free flow of information
With this initial step in the implementation of the COMTASK recommendations,  hopes have been raised that important changes, such as the repeal or amendment of laws infringing freedom of expression, as recommended in the COMTASK report, may be effected. For example it was noted that there was a need to create an environment which would enable the media to operate without obstruction from the government. It was acknowledged at the time of the writing of the recommendations that there were still "anachronistic"  laws in the statute books which obstruct free flow of information. It was recommended that legal experts be approached to review all these laws. It will be important for the government to deal with this problem because it will be in line with the government’s objective of maximising transparency and openness. There has been a call for some time now for the government to  review, amend or repeal these laws.

Despite these laws there were also other problems which were acknowledged by  COMTASK as affecting government’s communication such as low status of communication, lack of clear policy on government communications, patterns of ownership and control of media, relationships between government and the media control, inadequate infrastructure for communication and poor media professionalism. It would be very important to monitor developments around the implementation of the  COMTASK recommendations on the basis of these constraints and observe how far the government has gone in terms of addressing them.