Freedom of information
There are very important reasons why there should be freedom of information in South Africa and why the present Bill on the Protection of Information before parliament is a threat to our fledgling democracy.Firstly, freedom of information facilitates participatory democracy, which requires more than just submissive consent of those who are governed, but in contrast active agreement by real participation in decision-making, which can take a variety of forms: consultation of affected interests, the solicitation of representations, appearance at public inquiries, and even participation in the deliberations of the decision-making body itself. However all this is futile if only partial or selective information is available.
Secondly, governments accumulate and generate inordinate quantities of information, which are capable of being manipulated. The industrial nations of the world are producing a technological revolution, in a post industrial society, precipitated by information technology. Mankind's power over the environment has as a result increased inordinately, and the information revolution must impact on political and constitutional institutions.
Thirdly, an authentic democratic and transparent government requires that those persons and bodies that make vital political and economic decisions need to be thoroughly supervised and controlled by the political forces and actors in the body politic, who in turn must have access to information to effectively probe, criticize and evaluate the conduct of members of the executive and administration.
Fourthly an open society, governmental accountability and transparency are manifestly facilitated by free access to information. Without a reasonable disclosure of information such accountability remains a mere fiction.
Lastly, in the past, under the Apartheid regime, innumerable controversial executive acts in South Africa were shrouded in secrecy, which precipitated irregularity, illegality and corruption. The notorious information debacle in 1979/1980 in South Africa demonstrated the inherent danger of secrecy in government and the need for reform and control.
President Woodrow Wilson perceptively summed the position up as follows: 'Everyone knows that corruption thrives in secret places and we believe it is a fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety'.
Cllr George Devenish (DA, Durban).
17th July 2010
