Many thanks Anriette for sharing this very important case. <div>In my view it is Not a local issue of South Africa, but rather quite global, if not universal challenge we all face with.</div><div><br></div><div>Has there been any mention of "Multistakeholder" for your national process of ICT governance or policy formulation?</div>
<div><br></div><div>We need local MSH process at work, to advance global CS involvement in MSH governance implementation.</div><div><br></div><div>Izumi<br><br>2014年5月26日月曜日、Anriette Esterhuysen<<a href="mailto:anriette@apc.org">anriette@apc.org</a>>さんは書きました:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
Dear all<br>
<br>
This is a huge blow for us in South Africa. We have had a good
minister of communications for a while, Yunus Carrim. He made a very
positive difference in his short tenure, ensuring that we have a
functioning broadband policy and beginning to tackle issues such as
digital migration. He had a very strong public interest commitment.<br>
<br>
Sadly our new cabinet has just been announced and he has been
completely sidelined. We have 2 ministries where we had one. Posts
and Telecoms lead by the former security establishment leader who
lead the infamous south african 'secrecy bill' and Communications
which combines broad communications with government propaganda<br>
<br>
This is very depressing for us.<br>
<br>
See the statement below from South Africa's right to information
civil society coalition.<br>
<br>
Anriette<br>
<br>
<br>
<div><br>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>Please circulate widely...</div>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<h1 style="text-align:center" align="center"><span style="color:red"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">R2K STATEMENT: New Cabinet is a blow to the
right to communicate</font></span></h1>
<p style="text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><i><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">Issued by the Right2Know Campaign, 26
May 2014.</font></span></i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Yesterday President
Zuma announced his new Cabinet including a new Ministry
of Telecommunications and Postal Services and a
reconceptualised Ministry of Communications.</font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><b><u><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Ministry of
Communications: Ensuring the ‘Good Story’ get’s
told.</font></span></u></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.1pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">The new-look Ministry of Communications, led
by Faith Muthambi, will be responsible for both
overarching communication policy and spreading
government information, publicity and branding of the
country abroad.</font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">By conflating
communication policy and government propaganda the
President is signaling an intention to ensure various
institutions will be used to amplify government
propaganda rather then to create a democratic
communication system for all South Africans. </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.1pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">Of particular concern is Zuma’s announcement
that the new Communications Ministry will be "formed out
of" the Independent Communications Authority of South
Africa (Icasa), the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)
and the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA).
These are all bodies which have degrees of statuary
independence from the Executive. They all have critical
mandates to defend and advance our constitutional rights
to freedom of expression and access to information. </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.1pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">We must now face the risk that the Ministry
of Communications will be used to further weaken the
regulatory capacity of Icasa and further undermine the
already questionable independence of the SABC, all in
service of creating a communication environment
compliant to the needs of government messaging, rather
than one which best serves the information needs of the
people.</font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.1pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">The Ministry will also be responsible for
drafting government policies on broadcasting and the
transformation of the print media. These are both long
overdue interventions that should be aimed at
diversifying the media landscape and ensuring the
sustainability of public and community media. These
sensitive regulatory processes must be undertaken to
advance freedom of expression and press freedom in
particular. They are now in the hands of a Minister with
a mandate to ensure that government’s ‘good story’ gets
told.</font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><b><u><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Ministry of
Telecommunications and Postal Services: Profit
before People and Privacy.</font></span></u></b></p>
<p>
<span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The new Ministry of
Telecommunications and Postal Services is led by former
spy boss Siyabonga Cwele. The Right2Know Campaign has
concerns about both the rationale for a new Ministry as
well as the appropriateness of Siyabonga Cwele’s
appointment.</font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">The increasing convergence of
broadcasting and information communications
telecommunications technologies (ICTs) has led to a
global trend of convergence where broadcasting and
telecommunications are increasingly integrated.
President Zuma’s three previous Ministers responsible
for broadcasting and ICTs have all driven an integrated
approach that has led to the ICT Green Paper currently
in discussion. </span><span style="font-size:11pt">The
new Ministry appears to be a set back that will
undermine the ability of South Africa to harness the
democratizing and developmental potentials of
communication technologies.</span></font></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">Further, the President’s stated intentions
for the new Ministry places economic growth ahead of the
ICT needs of our democracy and our people.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif">Information must flow across
society and form the basis of a social dialogue that
deepens our democracy and advances social, economic, and
environmental justice. Instead the President has
emphasized the economic value of an industry already
defined by excessive monopolization, profiteering and
the failure to provide affordable access to the majority
of South Africans.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.1pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">Globally, the revelations by NSA
whistleblower Edward Snowden have shown why state
surveillance and the right to privacy need to be at the
centre of any government communications policy. In South
Africa there is urgent need for both government and the
private telecommunications sector to scrap policies and
practices that allow ordinary South Africans’
communications to be intercepted and their privacy to be
violated.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.1pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.1pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif">Under Dr Cwele’s stewardship of the Ministry
of State Security, there have been growing concerns
about the use and misuse of interception of
communications. (Between 2008 and 2011 – the most recent
statistics available through Parliament – there was a
170% increase in interception through the RICA system<a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&pli=1#146381a7f6f01df0__ftn1" name="1464a068b5a42532_146381a7f6f01df0__ftnref1" title="" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt">[1]</span></a>.) As former
Minister of State Security, Dr Cwele refused to engage
publically with the findings of the 2008 report of the
Matthews Commission into abuses of power and privacy in
state-security structures, helping to bury the report on
a technicality and allowing government officials and
Parliamentarians to refuse to even acknowledge the
report’s findings.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif">Both Ministries poses a potential
threat to the Right2Know’s Vula ‘ma Connexion (open the
connections) campaign for safe, quality and affordable
access to communications.</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black">We call on both the </span><span style="font-size:11pt">Ministers to commit to upholding
and advancing our right to communicate<span style="color:black">– to receive and impart
information and opinions – that is central to our
right to know.</span></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black">We are committed to
engaging constantly with both Ministries to ensure that
the Right2Know’s </span><i><span style="font-size:11pt">Preconditions
for a Democratic Communication System</span></i><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&pli=1#146381a7f6f01df0__ftn2" name="1464a068b5a42532_146381a7f6f01df0__ftnref2" title="" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:11pt">[2]</span></span></a><i><span style="font-size:11pt"> </span></i><span style="font-size:11pt">are delivered in their term in
office<i>. </i></span><span style="font-size:11pt">We
will intensify our campaign for a democratic
communication system that is able to:</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:36pt;line-height:14.949999809265137px">
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">•<span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:normal"> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">Secure
community ownership of networks</span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left:36pt;line-height:14.949999809265137px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">•<span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:normal"> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">Provide
universal service and democratic use </span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left:36pt;line-height:14.949999809265137px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">•<span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:normal"> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">Protect
digital rights of privacy and freedom of expression</span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left:36pt;line-height:14.949999809265137px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">•<span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:normal"> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">Utilize
convergence for efficient digital delivery</span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left:36pt;line-height:14.949999809265137px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">•<span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:normal"> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">Enshrine
the practice of net neutrality</span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left:36pt;line-height:14.949999809265137px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">•<span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:normal"> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">Acquire
capital for network growth and economic sufficiency </span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left:36pt;line-height:14.949999809265137px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">•<span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:normal"> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:16.866666793823242px">Maintain
a vision of forward-thinking technology</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif">### ENDS ###</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><b><u><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black"><font face="arial,
helvetica, sans-serif">For Comment:</font></span></u></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">National Spokesperson: </span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(38,38,38)">Murray Hunter
072 6725468</span><span style="font-size:11pt"></span></font></p>
<p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">Media Freedom/Diversity
Spokesperson: Julie Reid: </span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(38,38,38)">082 885 8969</span><span style="font-size:11pt"></span></font></p>
<p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15px">Telecommunications</span></font><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="arial, helvetica,
sans-serif"> Spokesperson: John Haffner 0603665880</font></span></p>
<p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">Gauteng Spokesperson: </span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(38,38,38)">Dale McKinley
072 429 4086
</span><span style="font-size:11pt"></span></font></p>
<p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">KZN Spokesperson: </span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(38,38,38)">Nomvula
Sikakane: 073 4882374</span></font></p>
<p>
<span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(38,38,38)"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></span></p>
<p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(38,38,38)">Statement
on</span></font></p></div></div></div></div>
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</blockquote></div><br><br>-- <br> >> Izumi Aizu <<<br>Institute for InfoSocionomics, Tama University, Tokyo<br>Institute for HyperNetwork Society, Oita, <br>Japan<br><a href="http://www.anr.org" target="_blank">www.anr.org</a><br>
<br>