As President Jacob Zuma navigated his way through New York - from the stock exchange to the United Nations - his Presidency ZA Twitter account mirrored his movements. A picture of the US and South African flags was posted from the NY Stock Exchange, where he rang the closing bell. Then came a tweet about UN acceptance of the National Transitional Council of Libya (even though South Africa had initially taken the unequivocal position not to recognise it).
Next was Zuma's commitment to US President Barack Obama's Open Government Partnership, in which access to information is a key part of the declaration.
More importantly, there was the tweet about the importance of free media. Should we look at this tweet - and Zuma's speech at the partnership launch - for clues to the sudden and surprising withdrawal of the Protection of Information Bill on Tuesday? Clearly, if the bill had come before the National Assembly while Zuma sat in the Waldorf Astoria as a co-signatory to Obama's global partnership, it would have caused embarrassment. It would have been difficult for the president of Africa's largest economy to explain to the "leader of the free world" why he had a bill back home that includes punitive measures against journalists.
Critically, Zuma's speech made direct reference to South African media: "Also key to open government and creating an open society is a free media. We pride ourselves on having freedom of expression and media freedom enshrined in the Constitution. This makes ours a vibrant democracy with a healthy exchange of ideas in society." By becoming a signatory to Obama's partnership, the president and his ANC government will surely have to rethink their position on the info bill altogether. Even if, as it seems, the ANC no longer prides itself on being co-creator of a free media in post-apartheid South Africa.
Source: Times Live
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