A South African chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has been established. The formal announcement of this was made on World Press Freedom Day, May 3. The chapter was established at a MISA Development Workshop held in Johannesburg on April 24 and 25. The programme of action adopted at the workshop included lobbying for the adoption of the Open Democracy Bill, which would codify the constitutional right of access to information into law, and for the establishment of a Media Development Agency to facilitate greater media diversity in South Africa. Dudley Moloi of the South African Union of Journalists (SAUJ) was elected as chairperson and Ivan Harris of the Media Workers Association of South Africa (MWASA) was elected as deputy chairperson.

South Africa has taken a bold new step towards open and accountable government with the publication of a register of interests of Members of Parliament (MP). In terms of a statutory Code of Conduct governing MPs, they are required to disclose all their outside financial interests - including shares, directorships, gifts of more than R350 as well as any extra employment - in a register of Members’ Interests. Although there are confidential sections of the register, most of the information can be accessed by the public, marking yet another victory for access to information in this country. The aim of the register is for the public to check whether an MP has a  potential conflict of interest between public duty and private interest. The full register was published by the Institute for Democracy (IDASA) and distributed as a public service by the weekly Mail & Guardian newspaper in its May 2-9 edition.

The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), which regulates the broadcasting sector in South Africa and sets policy for public broadcasting, has come under fire in a damning report by the auditor-general into its financial affairs. The report, which was presented to parliament on May 7, details a long list of financial irregularities and serious lack of financial controls.  Being a statutory body, the money involved was taxpayers’ money. The release of the auditor-general’s report was the culmination of weeks of often acrimonious exchanges between senior IBA officials and the media regarding allegations of financial mismanagement and corruption at top level. The Sunday Times newspaper grabbed the bull by the horns two weeks ago when it published details of the draft report of the Auditor-General. In its report the Sunday Times listed all the IBA councillors along with details of how they had allegedly squandered taxpayers money by abusing IBA credit cards for their own personal use. The following week the Sunday Times acknowledged that it had reported incorrectly on some aspects of the A-G’s draft report and apologised to two of the councillors, Mr John Mattisson and Mr William Lane. The Sunday Times report also prompted several groupings, including the Johannesburg-based Media Monitoring Project, to call for the disbanding of the IBA. However, in a media statement on April 30 the FXI rejected calls for the disbanding of the IBA saying such a step could constitute a threat to the freedom and independence of the broadcast media. The FXI statement said that if the IBA was scrapped, control of broadcasting including the issuing of licences would revert back to the government. The FXI, however, strongly supported calls for a public judicial inquiry into the financial affairs of the IBA. The FXI said in order to protect independent regulation of broadcasting, it was imperative that the IBA cleaned up its act and steps were urgently taken to transform the IBA into a transparent and accountable public institution.

Telkom, the parastatal body which has a monopoly over telecommunications services in South Africa, is to come under the spotlight this month because of its Internet activities. The Competitions Board and the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA) have announced that they are to launch a joint investigation into Telkom’s internet arm, SAIX, which was launched six months ago and which has already cornered 30% of the internet market in this country. The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), which represents private internet service providers, says Telkom has an unfair technical advantage and that it is also unfairly cross-subsidising SAIX. Because Telkom is the sole telephone network provider, ISPA maintains that SAIX is benefitting unfairly from Telkom’s monopoly. ISPA fears that the cross-subsidising of SAIX leaves the door open for predatory pricing, while Telkom may be able to discriminate against non-SAIX service providers in service, installation and maintenance. Late last month an investigation by the Competitions Board into SAIX’s activities ground to a halt when SAIX refused to supply it with financial information, saying the investigation should be conducted instead by SATRA.

The African National Congress (ANC) announced this week that it would submit a list of journalists who worked as active agents for the apartheid government to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The information will be contained in the ANC’s submission that will be presented in the second round of the TRC’s special hearing for political parties. The TRC is investigating gross human rights abuses committed during the apartheid era. The FXI, which is currently conducting an investigation into the role of the media during apartheid with the aim of making a submission to the TRC, has identified the issue of journalists who worked as spies as a important area of inquiry. The FXI’s investigation will examine how the role of these journalists served the government’s propaganda machinery, whether it lead to the imprisonment of some of their colleagues and whether it lead to the commission of gross human rights violations both inside and outside the country.

 A new press freedom body has been launched in South Africa. The Newspaper Press Union and the South African National Editors Forum have announced the establishment of the Free Press Forum, which will act as a watchdog for press freedom in this country. The announcement was made on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3.