NGO Pulse

Is South Africa Bidding Farewell to Free Press?

Published: 25 August, 2010

The proposed Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT) is taking the country back in terms of media freedom. If enacted into law, the Bill and the MAT will hinder people from holding government officials accountable. The Bill will violate people’s right to access information since it will give government the right to classify information in the public interest

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One Struggle That Does Not Have To Continue

Commemorating Women’s Month should remind South Africans of the struggles faced by women. Women need to be liberated economically as their liberation will end some of the other daily struggles faced by men. The empowerment of women cannot leave men feeling threatened. Men and women can still unite in the same spirit that united them in fighting apartheid in order to confront the gender struggles they face in their communities. Instead of contributing to making the fight to free women a difficult one, men should join the fight against all forms of oppression against women.

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When the Leadership Lost Vision, the Poor Suffer

The recent raping and guerilla-type execution of a Grade 11 learner, Magdalena Stoffels, highlight the seriousness of gender-based violence (GBV) in Namibia. Apart from the increasing GBV in the country, the senseless murder of Stoffels paints a picture of a country in which the safety of women and children is a concern. In addition, the lack of political will, as evident in government officials’ failure to urgently end GBV, creates an impression that the country is not taking GBV seriously

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Protection of Information Bill: SA Media Under Attack The proposed Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunal will mark the end of critical, independent and investigative journalism in South Africa. If enacted, the Bill will not only discourage investigative journalism, but will also promote censorship, leaving the media with no room to report on stories that are not pro-government. In addition, restrictive media laws could be used by government to punish citizens and civil society organisations in future 0 comments	Are Men Really Better in Business than Women? The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor should take into consideration the social challenges that women face in their communities when measuring their successes and/or failures against men. Apart from the inequalities they experience in their daily lives, social problems which they experience at an early age, including forced marriages and teenage pregnancies, often have a negative impact in their lives when they become women. They need to be properly educated in subjects such as mathematics, science, computer literacy, communications and public speaking 1 comments	Time to Prioritise Farming Southern African Development Community member states should provide assistance to small-scale farmers in order to overcome food insecurity in the region. Empowering small-scale farmers will go a long way in reducing poverty and increasing income in rural areas, while reducing food prices in urban areas. The responsibility of developing agriculture should not be the sole responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, but also other departments willing to make a contribution, even though it is not their priority 0 comments	Change Is A Process, Not an Event or Holiday Women’s Day, commemorated in honour of more than 20 000 women who took part in the multi-racial march to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 to deliver a petition to the then Prime Minister, JG Strijdom, should remind us of the many challenges that women face in South Africa. The country must take advantage of our much celebrated Constitution to improve women’s lives and tackle issues such as sexuality and reproductive rights. As we commemorate Women’s Day, we should remind ourselves that our male-dominated Parliament and homophobic and sexist comments by politicians such as African National Congress Youth League President, Julius Malema, are reversing some of the gains made when women such as Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph marched against the apartheid regime 0 comments
Civil Society Statement on Protection of Information Bill: Let the Truth be Told - Stop the Secrecy Bill! It is important that media, civil society and communication activists/orgnaisations join the campaign to prevent the passing of the Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill). If passed the bill will enable all organs of the state - including parastatals - to classify any information as secret without giving reasons or an opportunity to appeal decisions. The Civil Society Statement on the Protection of Information Bill highlights the concerns and demands of civil society regarding the Bill, and aims to mobilise significant support and awareness in this regard 2 comments	Serving our Life Sentence in the Shacks The number of informal settlements and shack fires in South Africa paint a picture of a country that has a long way to go in addressing its housing challenges. Shack dwellers live in conditions that are characterised by lack of sanitation and other basic services. They often feel excluded from society as they do not have access to the services they are entitled to. Communities should mobilise against any attempt by government to drive them out of the cities, like when they challenged the Slums Act in KwaZulu-Natal. The country should translate the FIFA World Cup experience into accelerating service delivery 1 comments	We Must Come Together to End Xenophobic Violence South Africans must condemn xenophobia and also play an active role in ending it. Xenophobia reverses the gains made by the African continent in unifying its people, especially after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Criminals use xenophobia as an excuse to loot from non-nationals. Government should respond decisively to the real threat of xenophobia. Unemployment should not be blamed on non-nationals. For example, it should be blamed on factors such as the influx of Chinese goods into the country, which result in many job losses. 0 comments	Sexual Violence Equals Silence: In Solidarity with the One in Nine Campaign South African men should respect the constitutional rights of women. They should learn to work together with women to end gender-based violence (GBV). Ending the latter requires society to discourage, among others, patriarchal practises that encourage all forms of violence against women. In addition, we need to create conditions that empower rape survivors to speak out against GBV and not expose them to secondary victimisation within society 0 comments

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