Apartheid law used to gag press
Publish date: 22 February 2007
Issue Number: 1771
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Media
Using an apartheid-era law to restrict information about an alleged R90m fence around President Thabo Mbeki\'s official residence were concerning, the SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) said in reaction to media reports in which Tami Chunk, the Department of Public Works spokesperson, was quoted as saying the Bryntirion government estate in Pretoria was a national key point.
A comprehensive security upgrade was part of routine security and maintenance of state assets and Chunk would not divulge costs, according to a report in The Citizen. The National Key Points Act was an apartheid-era law that had no place in a democratic SA and (Sanef) had asked government for its removal from the statute book, said Raymond Louw, chairperson of Sanef media freedom committee. Opposition parties have demanded explanations for the apparent plans to erect a R90m security wall around the complex. An SABC News report says Sanef feared SA might start a perilous descent into further censorship if the ban on information under the Act was not withdrawn. The Act stipulates that no information or photograph of a National Key Point can be published without official permission. However, key points have never been publicly listed, Louw said. Full SABC News report Full report in The Citizen
