Freedom of expression under siege in Parliament

Freedom of expression under siege in Parliament

As the civil society movement in Botswana we would like to express our unqualified disappointment at all members who have so far opposed the Freedom of Information Bill and those who voted in favour of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority Bill.

Whilst we express our disappointment we call on MPs to redeem themselves and rise to the defence of the Constitution of Botswana which protects, amongst others freedom of expression and the right to privacy at the next opportunity. In the same breath we request the MPs in future to play an effective role as a governance structure in Botswana to ensure that approval of legislation is for the benefit of this nation, selfless and for restoring the dignity of our people.

The Freedom of Information Bill, a progressive piece of legislation geared towards giving Batswana the right to access information has being shot down. The government mounted a spirited campaign against the Bill, labelling it 'mischievous'. Amongst reasons for the foregoing being that the phrase 'public interest' is not defined and could be open to any interpretation and further that the Bill requires sensitive documents such as minutes of Cabinet to be made public.

Efforts to explain that the phrase is generally understood and is similar to "public good" or "public benefit" did not bear any fruit. The fact that there are several exemptions to the disclosure or supply of information such as for, National security and defense, Legal professional privilege, Personal privilege, Trade secrets and business affairs, National economic issues was ignored by Parliament.

It is disappointing to note that instead of approaching the discussion on the Freedom of Information Bill with the view to improve on the current draft, the government resorted to searching for reasons why the bill should be trashed. Even when the mover of the motion noticed amendments to try and accommodate the views of government, the attack on the bill whilst without substance was condescending and unrelenting.

As the civil society movement we are disappointed that Parliament failed to assert itself as the defender of democracy in this country by voting in favour of the Freedom of Information Bill. We expected our MPs to vote selflessly and in a manner that is consistent and considerate to the interests of their constituents and the public benefit first.

It was also our expectation that Parliament would amend the BOCRA bill to return to the three tier system of broadcasting which was adopted by the government as articulated in various official policy and legislation including the Broadcasting Act of 1998.

This clear attempt to entrench government control of public media is undesirable and is a major regression to the gains made when Radio Botswana was licensed as a 'public service broadcaster'.The BOCRA Bill at clause 53 states in relation to electronic communication; "The Authority may, during any emergency, require any service provider to give priority to the transmission of the messages of government or of any person and to intercept messages transmitted under such circumstances". The Bill does not define the word 'emergency'. This is an area of grave concern, as in the manner it is drafted, the Bill does not accord with current best practice and leaves a lot of room for abuse.

As civil society we would like to echo the call for an oversight to this provision to safeguard it from possible abuse. The Intelligence and Security Act of 2007 provides a useful example as it requires the Director General under similar circumstances to approach "a senior magistrate or a judge of the High Court for a warrant". Unless such safeguards are put in place then the public has every reason to worry as to whether this is yet another attempt to infringe upon their freedom of expression and privacy.

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Freedom of expression under siege in Parliament