If the march organised by the Right2Know campaign to commemorate Black Wednesday is anything to go by, South Africans are still in the dark about the Protection of Information Bill.
The Bill, which would curtail the public’s access to information concerning all levels of government and could see whistleblowers imprisoned for up to 25 years, has been met with opposition by media and civil society but citizens have yet to answer the call to action.
A few hundred people gathered in Jorissen Street, Johannesburg, to draw attention to problems with the Bill.
Despite having its starting point outside Wits University’s Senate House, the traditional starting point for many student demonstrations during the apartheid era, Tuesday’s march was poorly attended by students. There were only a handful of students at the beginning of the march, although a number of curious scholars joined in as the procession moved through the city.
Two second year media studies students, Sibusisiwe Nyanda and Viraj Suparsad, cut class to attend the march. “It’s interesting to see that we’re at an institute of learning, where there are a lot of young people who should be opinionated about this, and they’re not here,” said Nyanda.
‘A passive society’
“I do think that there’s a general attitude of being apathetic and not really bothered. We’ve become such a passive society. Even issues that affect us, whether directly or indirectly, we’re not concerned to do anything about it actively,” she continued.
Surprisingly, other than those who had been dispatched to cover the event, journalists were also poorly represented at the event.
Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika, who was one of the few journalists who attended the march. Wa Afrika was controversially arrested by police on charges of fraud, forgery and uttering earlier this year. The National Prosecuting Authority later provisionally withdrew the charges and referred the matter back to the police for further investigation. Soon afterwards Wa Afrika’s lawyers began preparing a damages claim against the police for wrongful arrest.
Wa Afrika said the march had not been well publicised; he only learned about it a few days prior through a telephone conversation with a friend.
“I’m beginning to feel that we as journalists are just disorganised individuals. Then when the bill gets passed we’ll say ‘Oh why didn’t we do this?’ This is a perfect platform to get our voices heard but we are not here,” he said.
Protestors were drawn largely from civil society organisations such as the Anti-Privatisation Forum, the Landless People’s Organisation and the Public and Allied Workers Union of South Africa.
Struggle veteran
Among those who came to support the event was 80-year old struggle veteran Amina Cachalia. During the 60s, Cachalia was banned and placed under house arrest by the apartheid government.
“I’ve come here to show my support for the media. I hope [the Bill] doesn’t come about. We cannot allow these people to shut us down. We’re going down a very slippery slope if we allow this to happen,” she said.
Iolandi Pool, a member of the Institute for Security Studies, said her organisation felt strongly that the Bill should be opposed. “This affects all of us. It affects our access to information in any kind of form, from municipalities onwards. I suspect people are starting to realize that this affects more than just the media companies, as government has been portraying it,” she said.
But it was clear that many of the people who attended the event did not fully understand the issues that the march sought to highlight. One banner on display read “Arcelor Mittal: Stealing our tomorrow” and another read “Climate Justice Now”.
Beauty therapy student Mpho Mokhesi said she was invited to the march by her friends. “We just want to fight for our rights — we need toilets, water and houses,” she said. She admitted that she did not know much about the Protection of Information Bill.
‘Not an easy thing’
But Siphiwe Segodi, a member of the Gauteng Right2Know working group, said that the point of the march was to help people understand the relevance of the Bill and why it should be opposed.
“[The bill] is very complicated, it’s not an easy thing. Particularly people who are marginalised, they don’t see the link, directly, as to how this thing will affect them in future if it is passed. The Right2Know campaign has taken on the task to go to the ground and try our level best to make sure they understand.
“For those people who don’t know why they are here, we’re going to do our best to make sure they understand and so that when they go home they can spread the word,” he said.
Gabriella Razzano, a spokesperson from the South African History Archives, addressed the gathered crowd and outlined the key problems identified in the Bill.
“The citizen’s right to access information is entrenched in the Bill of Rights and the Protection of Access to Information Act, and these create a presumption towards openness in all matters. The [Protection of Information] Bill is saying the opposite,” she said.
Razzano said that although adjustments have been made to the Bill, it is still inadequate and still conflicts with other parts of the Constitution. “It’s a sad day when our government starts to step backwards from the Constitution, and it is our duty to force them back towards it,” she said.
More information on the Right2Know campaign can be found on the organisation’s website.