A statutory media tribunal would not only be unconstitutional but it would not solve the plethora of problems in the industry, a discussion group concluded on Tuesday. Jane Duncan from the Freedom of Expression Institute said the proposed body would obviously be unconstitutional, and would not fly.
No image available
/ 11 February 2008
The Democratic Alliance on Monday sided with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on a possible court challenge to the composition of the new South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board. Cosatu confirmed earlier it is considering legal action to have a new board appointed by the National Assembly.
No image available
/ 3 February 2008
South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande has accused City Press newspaper of adopting an ”extremely hostile attitude” towards African National Congress president Jacob Zuma. Nzimande tears into the paper in an open letter published on Sunday for ”deliberately” writing about the party in a ”provocatively factionalist, divisive and highly subjective manner”.
No image available
/ 23 December 2007
The new chairperson of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Khanyisiwe Mkhonza, paid tribute to the outgoing board in a statement to the media on Sunday. Mkhonza, who is the current chairperson of the public broadcasting services board sub-committee, also acknowledged challenges facing the new board.
No image available
/ 21 December 2007
The African National Congress (ANC) plans to examine further a proposal to set up a media tribunal, the party said on Friday. The notion was discussed and adopted at the ANC national conference this week, said ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama. A task team will now be set up to investigate ”the necessity or otherwise” of a media tribunal.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
The Gauteng government is trying to curtail opposition politicians’ investigations into public health facilities, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said on Thursday. The FXI said a complaint by provincial minister of health Brian Hlongwa about Democratic Alliance member Jack Bloom’s visits to public health facilities in the province was ”problematic”.
No image available
/ 22 November 2007
It would be a recipe for disaster if the intelligence services had to apply to the courts every time it wanted classified documents kept from the public, the Constitutional Court heard on Thursday. ”This would be hopelessly impractical,” said David Unterhalter, counsel for the Intelligence Ministry and the Presidency.
No image available
/ 21 November 2007
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) will appear in the Constitutional Court on Thursday in the case of Independent Newspapers versus the minister of intelligence. The FXI said on Wednesday it would argue that Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils did not follow proper procedure when trying to withhold certain documents from the public.
No image available
/ 25 October 2007
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Thursday dismissed an application by the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) to get the full record of the blacklisting inquiry at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The FXI had asked Icasa to subpoena the record to help it defend its complaint that the SABC had violated licensing conditions.
No image available
/ 24 October 2007
The South African Broadcasting Corporation would be within its rights not to run a story on Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, but media diversity is important in ensuring that other outlets can run it if they choose to, African National Congress (ANC) politician and businessman Saki Macozoma said on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 23 October 2007
Under no circumstances should a patient’s medical records be disclosed unless he or she gives personal consent, a seminar hosted by the South African Human Rights Commission was told on Tuesday. A panel was discussing the implications of articles published by the Sunday Times about Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
No image available
/ 23 October 2007
Under no circumstances should a patient’s medical records be disclosed unless he or she gives personal consent, a seminar hosted by the South African Human Rights Commission was told on Tuesday. Chairperson of the South African Medical Association Dr Kgosi Letlape said medical records should not be disclosed without consent.
No image available
/ 11 October 2007
The Presidency has declined to confirm whether President Thabo Mbeki will hold back on appointing the new South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board as requested by labour and civil society organisations, saying it will address its written response directly to those organisations that had made the call.
No image available
/ 10 October 2007
Several labour and civil-society organisations have asked President Thabo Mbeki to hold back on appointing the new South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board and return the list of names approved by the National Assembly last month. ”We have asked him not to appoint them,” the organisations said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The South African Constitution allows for the freedom of expression and for ordinary citizens’ participation in government by raising concerns in the form of petitions and protest marches. However, protests are being "censored" by government authorities, says the Freedom of Expression Network.