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REAFFIRMING DEMOCRACY & FREEDOM OF SPEECH
ADDRESSING THE NATION
In his first letter to the nation for the month of May, our President speaks about the importance of freedom of speech, not only for journalists but for all members of the public – and he reaffirms that any expression of dissatisfaction in South Africa may be made without fear of retribution.
Recognising how far we’ve come
Looking back at Freedom Month is a time for recognising and celebrating how far we have come since the days before democracy – a dark time of banning orders, imprisonment without trial and the unilateral closure of publications. The 2021 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters without Borders, is a measurement of the state of media freedom across the globe, which has found that generally there has been a decline in public access to information and an increase in obstacles to news coverage in a number of countries.
The statistics in the report reveal that journalism is ‘totally blocked or seriously impeded’ in 73 countries and ‘constrained’ in 59 others – with a notable decline in media freedom having occurred during COVID-19. South Africa is ranked 32nd out of 180 countries and our state of media freedom is described as ‘guaranteed but fragile’. The report lists our Constitution which protects freedom and our established culture of investigative journalism, as positives in our favour, whilst the number of negatives include legal injunctions against both taking images of National Key Points and reporting on matters involving state security.
What also counted against our overall ranking was the increase of intimidation of journalists, especially female journalists on social media, during 2020. President Ramaphosa describes this intimidation as “totally unacceptable, but is particularly harmful when it is directed at female journalists and is occasionally accompanied by threats of sexual violence.This is a matter of great concern and cannot be allowed.”
His Excellency pays tribute to the role the South African media has played in revealing “the true extent of capture of the state by self-serving, corrupt individuals and entities. They sustained their reporting even in the face of intimidation, disinformation and attacks on their person.”
However, he also notes that corruption is only one of the challenges we face in SouthAfrica – many of our citizens face poverty, inequality and underdevelopment, poor service delivery, and lack of access to opportunities on a daily basis.
“If the media is to remain true to its responsibility to support democracy, our journalists must continue to report without fear or favour on the other issues of the day. Their sustained coverage must include gender based violence, crime in our communities, and social ills like substance abuse.
“Our media should provide accurate and impartial information, enabling the public to make informed decisions, to access opportunities and to improve their lives. They should continue to produce journalism that goes beyond the headlines and front pages and that contributes to human development. They should report both the good news and the bad news, the progress we make and the challenges we face.” – President Ramaphosa.
Key to maintaining trust between the public and journalists is the issue of credibility:
“When journalists allow themselves or their platforms to be used to fight political battles or settle scores on behalf of vested interests, their credibility suffers. When media disseminate stories that are inaccurate or that they know to be false, the public loses faith in them.
“It is in the best interests of all who love this country and wish for it to succeed that our media is supported, and not hindered in its work.
“As a society, let us continue to work together to jealously safeguard our country’s media freedom. It was hard won, and without it, we cannot hope to flourish,” – H.E. Ramaphosa •
