•Freedom of Information (FOI) is regarded as one of the best examples of democracy.
•Access to Information is a Human Right
In South Africa, the right of access to information is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Republic of South Africa, 1996) and enacted through the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) (Republic of South Africa 2000).
The passing of FOI legislation symbolises a commitment to promote democracy and public participation. However, the enactment of PAIA has not translated into democracy and public participation because there is overwhelming evidence suggesting the poor implementation of the legislation.
Most marginalised South Africans do not enjoy the right of access to information because of numerous factors such as a lack of awareness, interpretational issues, inadequate resources, a culture of secrecy, laws inherited from the apartheid government, poor record-keeping and a lack of political will (Mutula, 2006; Odinkalu and Kadiri, 2014; OAsogwa and Ezema, 2017).
Ref. Mojapelo, M.G. (2024), “A framework towards the implementation of freedom of information legislation in South Africa”, Information Discovery and Delivery, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IDD-11-2022-0121
Access to Information promotes
•Transparency by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information.
•Accountability.
•Gives ordinary citizens a right of access to all kinds of information held by public bodies (namely the government) and private bodies (such as companies). It offers only limited justification for withholding such information.
•Cultivating an informed and engaged public
•Building trust in institutions
•Assists in transparency and accountability in actions related to environmental justice, scientific integrity, and public health.
The Municipal Systems Act emphasizes governance principles and the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) mandates public access to information held by public bodies, including municipalities.
Unfortunately, municipalities often do not make information publicly available by default, instead, they require interested individuals to follow a PAIA application process to access.
Municipalities are the sphere of government closest to the people. They have powers and duties which directly affect the development of local areas and the daily lives of local residents.
Municipal councils must
- contribute to the progressive realisation of the fundamental rights contained in the Constitution.
- respect the rights of citizens in the way in which they exercise their powers
The preamble of PAIA states that before the enactment of the Constitution, the South African government was characterised as secretive and unresponsive which led to many abuses of public power. It goes on to state that one of the reasons for enacting PAIA is to foster transparency and accountability in all governance issues, including municipalities. The purpose of PAIA is to improve access to information and not to create a convenient barrier to hide information.
Municipalities’ approach should always favour a position of transparency rather than conditional secrecy. Ref. Dullah Omar Institute Volume 19, Issue 2, June 2024.The PAIA barrier to access municipal records
One of the most important provisions of the PAIA is the public interest override which provides that despite a ground of refusal applying, the information officer must grant a request for access if the disclosure of the record would:
•1.Reveal evidence of a substantial contravention of,or failure to comply with the law; or an imminent and serious public safety or environmental risk and
•2.The public interest in the disclosure of the record clearly outweighs the harm contemplated in the ground of refusal.
Guidance on policies and actions and the availability of data
The WHO encourages countries to establish exposure standards that limit EMF exposures to the public and workers as part of national legislation (Ref: Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment, 2024 update).The implementation of legal limits, rather than industry self-regulation, should be encouraged. Additionally, national monitoring systems should be established, with data readily accessible to scientists and the public. https://bit.ly/3HkQ4vh
In Australia mobile tower configurations (by all operators) are openly shared on a national website for cumulative safety assessments.
As the deployment of 5G NR networks continues to expand globally, comprehending and monitoring EMF exposure levels have become crucial in ensuring public safety and addressing potential exposure-effect relations. RF-EMF exposure monitoring networks contribute to enhancing our awareness of existing RF-EMF exposures and also serve as valuable resources for policymakers and researchers to make informed decisions regarding human and environmental protection. Ref. Erdal Korkmaz, Sam Aerts, Richard Coesoij, Chhavi Raj Bhatt, Maarten Velghe, Loek Colussi, Derek Land, Nikolaos Petroulakis, Marco Spirito, John Bolte, A comprehensive review of 5G NR RF-EMF exposure assessment technologies: fundamentals, advancements, challenges, niches, and implications, Environmental Research, Volume 260, 2024, 119524, ISSN 0013-9351, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.119524.
“My Parliament, My Freedom, My Voice, My Future“.(the theme for the opening of the South African Parliament July 2024)
In the spirit of “My Parliament, My Freedom, My Voice, My Future,’ we must remember that our esteemed constitution enshrines the public’s right to participation and transparency. Yet, too often, ratepayers, taxpayers, and consumers find their voices unheard, especially in matters relating to telecommunication infrastructure. Our constitutional values should be honored by ensuring that all public inquiries are met with the respect, transparency and responsiveness that fosters trust and empowers our future.
The lessons of history emphasize the importance of Freedom of Information requests
Project MKUltra
An illegal human experiments program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used during interrogations to weaken people and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture.In 1977, a Freedom of Information Act request uncovered a cache of 20,000 documents relating to MKUltra, which led to Senate hearings
Ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra#cite_note-nytimes.com-13
Ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra#cite_note-mk1977-22
Tuskegee Syphilis Study
The U.S. Public Health Service called it “The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.” The world would soon come to know it simply as the “Tuskegee Study” — one of the biggest medical scandals in U.S. history, an atrocity that continues to fuel mistrust of government and health care among Black Americans. Ref. https://apnews.com/article/tuskegee-study-experiment-syphilis-7743bd8c7d51fe0ef9a855b4bec69b1f