A black day for your right to know

When we elect government representatives to govern on our behalf we need an unfettered press to tell us what these people representing us are up to. That’s the way democracy works. That is why Sports Trader joined more than 1 000 black-clad protesters outside the gates of Parliament on 22 November when MPs adopted the Protection of Information Bill with a 122 majority that will send whistle-blowers and people attempting to expose secrets, to jail. Opposition to the Secrecy Bill is not about giving journalists more rights than other citizens. It is to ensure the right of every South African to know that the people who govern on their behalf – from local, provincial to national government officials – are not abusing their trust. As an opponent of this “Secrecy Bill” said: you only want to keep bad things secret, when you are doing good, you want everybody to know. You can only hold your representatives accountable if you know what they’re doing.