A decision by Ethekwini Council to adopt a new set of rules that will effectively gag the media and prevent the public from accessing information divulged at Execurive Committee meetings, has been slammed by the civic organisation, Save Our Berea.
According to the Amendments to the Rules of Order document, EXCO may close its meetings to the public in situations where confidential information may be disclosed regarding any person to the public, or where any investigation, report or internal audit report which is in the course of consideration could be compromised by its public disclosure and where there may be disclosure of any trade secrets of the municipality or financial, business, scientific or technical information which is likely to cause prejudice to the business or interests of the municipality.
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Once the rules are adopted, any person present during a committee or council meeting will be barred from using any electronic device to communicate any information relating to a matter being discussed in the meeting, and the rules will bar the media from using any device to record the proceedings without the necessary permission of the Speaker or chairperson of EXCO.
Journalists may however take written notes.
Responding to the new rules, ward councillor, Chris Pappas, said communities were witnessing a growing trend of unscrupulous governance practices where transparency and freedom of speech were being trampled on.
“This is yet another attempt by the current administration to curtail the rights of the public to know,” he said.
Kevin Dunkley from Save Our Berea said he felt the decision was shameful.
“Having lived our whole lives under a Nationalist government who were intent on removing civil liberties at every turn, we as South Africans heralded the new democratic government of 1994 with a Constitution based on the principles of transparency and freedom of information. After 23 years it is sad to once again see the erosion of the freedoms guaranteed under our constitution.”
Dunkley said one had to consider whether the decision was taken to hide the ‘nefarious actions of corruption’.
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Dunkley said former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo put it succinctly in a 2011 Constitutional Court judgment by stating that the constitutional guarantee of the right of access to information held by the state gives effect to accountability, responsiveness and openness as founding values of our constitutional democracy.
“It is impossible to hold accountable a government that operates in secrecy. In a democratic society such as our own, the effective exercise of the right to vote also depends on the right of access to information. For without access to information, the ability of citizens to make responsible political decisions and participate meaningfully in public life is undermined.”
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