tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/right-to-information-64398/articlesRight to Information – The Conversation2022-06-30T09:22:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1859222022-06-30T09:22:45Z2022-06-30T09:22:45ZDigital migration: court delay upholds information rights of poor South Africans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471658/original/file-20220629-12-5zcy3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The government had many years to ensure a smooth transition from analogue to digital television but failed.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s Constitutional Court <a href="https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/judgement/474-e-tv-pty-limited-and-others-v-minister-of-communication-and-digital-technologies-and-11-others-cct89-22-cct92-22">has decided</a> to strike down the government’s plans to end old-style analogue television broadcasting at the end of June. The decision upholds the right to information, which poor South Africans would have been denied as government has been slow to roll out the devices they need to access the new digital signal. </p>
<p>But the decision further delays migration to digital broadcasting and will leave South Africa struggling longer with a lack of urgently needed bandwidth. The migration would free up space on the frequency spectrum for mobile data and other uses.</p>
<p>The government had many years to ensure a smooth transition and ensure that poor households would continue to have access to television services. But it failed to do so. A last minute rush and hasty deadlines could not obscure the fact that perhaps a third of South Africans would have been left without access.</p>
<p>The court’s <a href="https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/judgement/474-e-tv-pty-limited-and-others-v-minister-of-communication-and-digital-technologies-and-11-others-cct89-22-cct92-22">ruling</a>, handed down just two days before the deadline, said the government neglected to establish how many people would be left without access to television when the analogue signal was switched off. The decision was, therefore, unconstitutional and was set aside. </p>
<p>The court challenge to the 30 June date for analogue switch-off came from free-to-air private broadcaster <a href="https://www.etv.co.za/">e.tv</a>, supported by civil society groups <a href="https://soscoalition.org.za/">SOS Support Public Broadcasting</a> and <a href="https://mediamonitoringafrica.org/">Media Monitoring Africa</a>. They argued that the date was too early, as there were still too many people who wouldn’t have access to the new digital signal. </p>
<p>The process of digital migration has dragged on for many years: South Africa first planned to switch off analogue in 2011, well ahead of a deadline set by the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunications Union</a> for 2015. But these and further deadlines and ministers came and went, while the process was dogged by claims of corruption, operational delays and accusations that South African satellite TV giant <a href="https://www.multichoice.com/">Multichoice</a> <a href="https://www.itweb.co.za/content/GxwQDq1ZKlnvlPVo">tried to shape the process to its own agenda</a>. </p>
<p>The administration of <a href="https://www.itweb.co.za/content/mQwkoq6P4yA73r9A">President Cyril Ramaphosa</a> has identified the reshaping of the digital landscape as a policy priority. The government is pushing hard to finalise digital migration – moving analogue television broadcasts to a new digital platform, “digital terrestrial television”. </p>
<p>The current minister of communications, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, recently <a href="https://www.itweb.co.za/content/kLgB1Mez4OGq59N4">railed against opponents of digital migration</a>, saying the country needed to</p>
<blockquote>
<p>bridge the digital divide, especially on a continent where the majority of our people remain unconnected and without access to technology. We cannot afford to be left behind, irrespective of any other agendas. Our people are going to be connected.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Need for change</h2>
<p>After so many years of delay, however, the landscape has changed dramatically. Digital terrestrial television has largely been overtaken by internet-based services like Netflix and satellite services like DSTV, at least for the middle classes. Poorer South Africans still rely heavily on the analogue system.</p>
<p>Around 36% of the country’s population might have been left in “<a href="https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/will-south-africas-long-awaited-analogue-switch-off-still-go-ahead/">television darkness</a>” at the end of June if the switch-off had gone ahead, according to submissions to the Constitutional Court. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-03-13-the-big-analogue-tv-switch-off-is-over-hasty-and-will-be-a-disaster/">Justine Limpitlaw and Azola Dayile of the SOS Support Public Broadcast Coalition</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>That the 36% are the most marginalised and have least access should be of particular concern to the government.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At the heart of the problem is the fact that the frequency spectrum has limited space for the radio, television, cellphone and other signals it carries. Newer digital technologies dramatically increase carrying capacity, and the ballooning demand for digital services has created massive demand for additional spectrum to be released. The lack of bandwidth <a href="https://www.itweb.co.za/content/5yONP7EgeL6qXWrb">has been identified</a> as a major obstacle to lowering data costs and hence promoting economic growth.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471661/original/file-20220629-14-m0gw9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471661/original/file-20220629-14-m0gw9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471661/original/file-20220629-14-m0gw9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471661/original/file-20220629-14-m0gw9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471661/original/file-20220629-14-m0gw9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471661/original/file-20220629-14-m0gw9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471661/original/file-20220629-14-m0gw9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, South Africa’s communications minister.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Assembly</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the traditional broadcasters are in the way. They are <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/communications-and-digital-technologies-high-court-judgement-final-date-analogue-switch">occupying the frequency bands</a> between 700 MHz and 800 MHz and need to be migrated to digital to free up those bands for mobile data.</p>
<p>The government has had some success on the other end of the digital migration problem. After long and complex court battles, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa successfully held an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/safrica-completes-spectrum-auction-collects-nearly-billion-dollars-2022-03-18/">auction of frequency space</a> in March this year, realising R14.4 billion (about US$900 million) from six mobile companies.</p>
<p>The amount far exceeded expectations and reflects how valuable frequency space is. Treasury will be glad of the tidy windfall, too.</p>
<h2>The hurdle</h2>
<p>The problem is that the real estate has been sold while its old occupants are still in possession and fighting attempts to move them off.</p>
<p>Some transmitters in five provinces have <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/media-statement-minister-communications-and-digital-technologies-ms-khumbudzo-ntshavheni-mp">already been switched off</a>, but switch-offs in the most populous areas of the country still lie ahead. </p>
<p>The government has been rolling out the free set-top boxes that will allow people with old television sets to receive the new digital signal. But the process is far behind schedule.</p>
<p>By late last year, just over 500,000 households had been issued with set-top boxes, according to <a href="https://collections.concourt.org.za/handle/20.500.12144/37863?show=full">government figures submitted in court</a>, out of a qualifying total of 3.75 million.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://collections.concourt.org.za/bitstream/handle/20.500.12144/37863/CCT%2089-22%20-%20First%20Respondent%27s%20Answering%20Affidavit.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y">ministry argued</a> that most of those left out had not registered for support. The government could only take responsibility for those who had, the minister said in court papers. But the Constitutional Court said this was not good enough, and that the 31 October 2021 deadline to register was irrational. </p>
<p>Though e.tv has emphasised the loss of information rights of millions for purposes of its application to the court, the broadcaster also <a href="https://www.itweb.co.za/content/LPp6V7rDZoLqDKQz">fears a massive loss of business</a>. With such a huge drop in audience numbers, advertisers will simply go elsewhere.</p>
<p>The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the national public broadcaster, too, would lose money and initially <a href="https://www.sabc.co.za/sabc/media-statement-on-analogue-switch-off/">expressed concern</a> about switching off analogue too quickly. It later apologised to the minister for an alleged breach of protocol, after apparent pressure from the ministry. But, the statement has not been retracted and remains on the corporation’s website.</p>
<h2>A question of timing and rights</h2>
<p>All sides agree that the analogue switch-off needs to happen – it is only the timing that is at issue. Though the process has been running for many years, progress has been painfully slow while pressure for more bandwidth has grown exponentially.</p>
<p>It seems less than fair to expect millions of the most disadvantaged to do without television as a result of the state’s difficulties with delivery – in this case, of set-top boxes. After all, information is a basic right and necessity.</p>
<p>The Constitutional Court ruling means that until the government can roll out set-top boxes to those who need them, mobile data will remain scarce and expensive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Franz Krüger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The decision further delays migration to digital broadcasting and places strain on the urgently needed bandwidth for mobile data.Franz Krüger, Adjunct Professor of Journalism, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1669702021-08-31T15:04:27Z2021-08-31T15:04:27ZPostponing South Africa’s local elections: what the Constitutional Court must decide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418662/original/file-20210831-13-v11azd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The apex court must decide if the elections can be free and fair amid the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Yeshiel Panchia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way elections are conducted across the world. South Africa, too, is faced with an unprecedented situation of having to decide whether to postpone its municipal elections, scheduled for <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/newsletters/president-announces-27-october-2021-date-local-government-elections">27 October</a>.</p>
<p>President Cyril Ramaphosa gave almost six months’ notice by <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/newsletters/president-announces-27-october-2021-date-local-government-elections">announcing</a> 27 October 2021 as the date for the elections on 21 April 2021. The <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/images/a108-96.pdf">constitution</a> requires that an election be held within 90 days of the end of the term of office for local government. Since the last local government elections were held on 3 August 2016, an election must be held by 1 November 2021 to comply. No provision is made for discretion to postpone the elections in the constitution or in legislation.</p>
<p>But, as the Electoral Commission of South Africa started preparing for elections, some political parties flagged the challenges of holding elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission then constituted <a href="https://www.elections.org.za/freeandfair/">an inquiry</a>, headed by former <a href="https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/judges/former-judges/11-former-judges/70-deputy-chief-justice-dikgang-moseneke">deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke</a>, to ascertain if the elections would be free and fair if held in October.</p>
<p>The inquiry <a href="https://www.elections.org.za/freeandfair/lge2021/Report-Livestream">found</a> that there was a possibility that elections in October might not be free and fair. It suggested they be postponed to February 2022. Based on this report, the electoral commission applied to the Constitutional Court to have the <a href="https://collections.concourt.org.za/handle/20.500.12144/36806">elections postponed</a>. The judgement is expected soon.</p>
<p>The challenges facing the electoral commission were highlighted in a <a href="https://www.elections.org.za/freeandfair/IEC%20Submissions/Independent%20medical%20experts/Submissions%20from%20Prof%20du%20Plessis%20-%20Ms%20P%20Kruger%20&%20Ms%20S%20Abdool%20Karim.pdf">submission we made to the inquiry</a>. The task facing the court is to first determine if the elections will be free and fair if held in October. If it finds not, then it must decide whether it has the authority to postpone the elections. </p>
<h2>The right to vote</h2>
<p>The right to vote is a right that underpins South Africa’s democracy. It is also a founding provision of the constitution. The Constitutional Court has reiterated on many occasions the importance of this <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2015/31.html">right</a>. It has indicated that the right to vote is linked to the realisation and protection of other rights, including the <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/1999/3.html">right to dignity</a>. Therefore, the right itself protects more than just the act of voting.</p>
<p>It is linked to the general right to free and fair elections. The state is obliged to fulfil the right. In terms of sections 181 and 190 of the constitution, read with the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/electoral-commission-act">Electoral Commission Act</a>, the electoral commission must ensure this. </p>
<p>The principles of freeness and fairness do not only pertain to the workings of the commission. The right to free and fair elections may, for instance, also be undermined where political parties are being treated unfairly or if they cannot campaign due to restrictions by the state.</p>
<p>So, what is at stake is the individual’s right to vote, and the right to free and fair elections. In this context, the electoral commission, and now the Constitutional Court, must look at the risks the COVID-19 pandemic poses, and consider if elections can be free and fair.</p>
<h2>Voting day</h2>
<p>We made a submission to the inquiry in June 2021 on the various measures that can be taken to lessen the spread of COVID-19 during the election.</p>
<p>In our report, we allude to the measures other countries took to lessen the spread of COVID-19 during elections. Firstly, there were various special voting arrangements, such as early voting, postal voting, proxy voting, and home and institution-based voting. </p>
<p>Countries like Lithuania and the Czech Republic even had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-national-elections-lithuania-elections-europe-75bef74b7e8985e81908345ead6bb8d8">“drive-by”</a> voting stations for people in quarantine. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-election-health-coronavirus-idUSKBN20P1BZ">Israel</a> established dedicated polling stations for quarantined voters. </p>
<p>While not all of these suggestions can be transplanted to South Africa, it does indicate that “out of the box” solutions are possible.</p>
<p>Secondly, the World Health Organisation <a href="https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/WHO-2019-nCoV-elections-2020-1">provides guidance</a> on how to conduct elections during the pandemic, such as physical distancing, mask-wearing and hand sanitising.</p>
<h2>Campaign</h2>
<p>The right to free and fair elections includes enabling parties to campaign to inform the electorate of their candidates, and to do general voter education. The Constitutional Court has <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2018/17.html">drawn the link</a> between the right to vote and the right of access to information.</p>
<p>Campaigning is, therefore, an integral part of the right to vote, and to free and fair elections. Campaigning activities can be challenging during COVID-19. Restrictions promulgated to deal with the pandemic might unduly limit the right to free and fair elections.</p>
<p>While it is imperative that <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-postpone-or-not-to-postpone-south-africas-local-elections-hang-in-the-balance-165678">political parties adapt</a> the way they campaign, limiting campaigning to digital or telephonic options may disadvantage people who do not have easy access to these options.</p>
<p>Methods of campaigning in a COVID-19 compliant way include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>only permitting outdoor campaign events,</p></li>
<li><p>requiring screening, </p></li>
<li><p>ensuring that there is enough space to implement social distancing,</p></li>
<li><p>ensuring enforcement of non-pharmaceutical interventions (mask, sanitiser), and </p></li>
<li><p>recommending that vulnerable people don’t attend these events. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Most of these measures are already contained in the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/disaster-management-act-declaration-national-state-disaster-covid-19-coronavirus-16-mar">Disaster Management Act</a>, but enforcement may be problematic. A solution may be for the electoral commission to oversee the process, with sanctions for non-compliance.</p>
<h2>Under COVID-19 conditions</h2>
<p>Sixty percent of adults support the postponement of this year’s local government elections, <a href="https://www.uj.ac.za/newandevents/Documents/2021-07-13%20UJ-HSRC%20Public%20views%20on%20electoral%20postponement.pdf">according to a January 2021 survey</a> by the University of Johannesburg and the Human Science Research Council. This correlates with <a href="https://www.ifes.org/news/voting-during-covid-19-what-scares-people-most">international research</a>. </p>
<p>It indicates that the fear of infection at the polling station is a significant concern, seemingly depending on whether the country is experiencing a surge or decline in cases.</p>
<p>Most countries have chosen to proceed with elections in a COVID-19 compliant way. The question is what the criteria are for free and fair elections during COVID-19, and if based on these criteria, elections would be more free and fair in February 2022. </p>
<p>Having higher rates of vaccinations might be a reason for postponement, but might not be realised by February 2022. Experts have suggested
that in order to have herd immunity, 67% of the population needs to be vaccinated. But experts have already warned that <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-herd-immunity-its-not-going-to-happen-so-what-next-165471">herd immunity is unlikely to happen</a>. Does that then mean no election will be considered free and fair? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.elections.org.za/freeandfair/IEC%20Submissions/Independent%20medical%20experts/Submissions%20from%20Prof%20du%20Plessis%20-%20Ms%20P%20Kruger%20&%20Ms%20S%20Abdool%20Karim.pdf">In our report</a>, we benchmarked the electoral commission’s proposed interventions against the World Health Organisation’s recommendations. In general, the commission seems to have complied with those recommendations. For instance, it has considered increasing the number of polling stations, queuing outside, regulating the flow of people and the number of people in the venue as well as sanitising and social distancing. Extended hours and physical barriers could be extra measures to implemented.</p>
<h2>Free and fair is final question</h2>
<p>The electoral commission did not have its usual voter registration weekends because the level of <a href="https://www.gov.za/covid-19/about/coronavirus-covid-19-alert-level-4">lockdown regulations</a> in place from 28 June to 25 July and still in place <a href="https://www.gov.za/covid-19/alert-level-3-coronavirus-covid-19-lockdown">since 26 July</a> did not permit it. While registration weekends are not required by law, it can be argued that their absence prevented more people from registering, affecting whether the elections could be free and fair.</p>
<p>In the end, the question that must be asked is if elections can be free and fair if held in October. If the answer is yes, then that is the end of the question. If the answer is no, then the question is whether the elections should take place despite the COVID-19 risk, or should be postponed. This is the difficult question that the Constitutional Court is being asked to rule on.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elmien du Plessis previously received funding from the NRF. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Petronell Kruger receives funding from the SAMRC Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Safura Abdool Karim receives funding from the SAMRC Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA. </span></em></p>The right to free and fair elections may be undermined if political parties cannot campaign due to COVID-19 restrictions by the state.Elmien du Plessis, Associate Professor of Law, North-West UniversityPetronell Kruger, Senior Researcher, Public health law, University of the WitwatersrandSafura Abdool Karim, Senior researcher, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1448972020-09-11T11:37:29Z2020-09-11T11:37:29ZIndia: why secrecy over Narendra Modi’s coronavirus relief fund damages democracy<p>Since <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">India overtook Brazil</a> in September to become the country with the second largest number of coronavirus cases in the world (after the US), the response of the government of Narendra Modi has come <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/11/asia/india-covid-death-rate-explainer-intl-hnk-scli/index.html">under even tighter scrutiny</a>. </p>
<p>In late March, Prime Minister Modi announced the formation of a special fund to address the emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Called the <a href="https://www.pmcares.gov.in/en/">Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations</a> Fund (PM-CARES Fund), it has <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/pm-cares-vs-pmnrf-what-is-the-fuss-about-1712468-2020-08-18">attracted controversy</a> right from the start.</p>
<p>According to its official website, the fund was set up to collect donations from India and abroad to “undertake and support relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other kind of emergency”. The website says the fund will provide financial assistance and grants to affected populations. </p>
<p>But the prime minister’s office has refused to provide exact details of donations made to the fund or make public decisions about how the donations are being used. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A screen grab from the official website of the PM-CARES Fund" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355299/original/file-20200828-18-sw7ekj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355299/original/file-20200828-18-sw7ekj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355299/original/file-20200828-18-sw7ekj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355299/original/file-20200828-18-sw7ekj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355299/original/file-20200828-18-sw7ekj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355299/original/file-20200828-18-sw7ekj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355299/original/file-20200828-18-sw7ekj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screen grab from the official website of the PM-CARES Fund.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several information seekers, including me, have tried to use India’s Right to Information (RTI) Act, which facilitates access to government files and records, to find out more details about the fund. We have been blocked, with a number of requests for information turned down by Modi’s office on the grounds that the fund is a public charitable trust and not a “<a href="http://accountabilityindia.in/sites/default/files/rti_brief_no._5-_who_is_a_public_authority_0.pdf">public authority” as defined under the RTI act</a>. </p>
<h2>Outstanding questions</h2>
<p>The fund’s website claims that in the financial year ending March 2020, 20 billion rupees (£210 million) was spent on supplying 50,000 ventilators manufactured by Indian firms to government hospitals. It also says that 10 billion rupees was given to state governments to assist migrant labourers, and that another 1 billion rupees was allocated to support COVID-19 vaccine development efforts. </p>
<p>But when the transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/08/22/rti-query-reveals-wide-gap-price-ventilators-pmcares.html">sent an RTI request</a> to the ministry of health about the ventilators, the response showed that only 17,100 were eventually allocated or dispatched to states and union territories by July 20. Bhardwaj’s response also revealed that two of the firms received funding even though they hadn’t been recommended by a technical committee. </p>
<p>So far, it’s also been impossible to verify through RTI queries what other money was spent giving assistance to migrant labourers, or which of India’s <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indian-vaccine-development-to-be-backed-by-pm-cares/story-RLUxmlAlPnheClpTLbaSEK.html">25 vaccine development initiatives</a> the PM-CARES fund has supported. </p>
<p>In late August, Modi’s office announced the fund would finance <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/pm-cares-to-fund-two-500-bed-covid-19-hospitals-in-bihar/article32428689.ece">two 500-bed hospitals</a> in Bihar. But this has further fuelled controversy, with the announcement <a href="https://thewire.in/politics/bihar-elections-pm-cares-fund-bjp">seen by some</a> opposition figures as a political move ahead of assembly elections due in the state in October given that <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1103458/india-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-cases-by-state/">other states have higher numbers of cases</a>. </p>
<p>And in September, the Supreme Court <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sc-refuses-plea-to-transfer-pm-cares-fund-to-ndrf/articleshow/77606706.cms">struck down a petition</a> demanding that money from the fund be transferred to the <a href="https://www.ndmindia.nic.in/response-fund">National Disaster Response Fund</a> to finance COVID-19 relief work.</p>
<h2>Government secrecy</h2>
<p>The union minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, has hit out at political opponents who were demanding accountability for the PM-CARES Fund. While he claimed that <a href="https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/-transparency-writ-large-prasad-attacks-rahul-on-sc-s-order-related-to-pm-cares-fund-11597745256823.html">“transparency was writ large”</a> in the way the fund functions, it’s curious that the prime minister’s office continues to block legitimate queries about it. </p>
<p>In late August, I filed an RTI application seeking various details of the charitable trust under which the PM-CARES Fund had been registered, and which state regulatory authority was monitoring the trust. But I was refused information on the grounds that the fund was not a public authority. </p>
<p>However, this assertion does not pass muster. Back in 2007, <a href="http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/cic-asks-for-info-on-pm-s-relief-fund/209445/">a similar situation arose</a> with regards to a request for information about the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), which has received public contributions since it was set up in 1948 by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The Central Information Commission, which adjudicates information appeals, made it clear that the prime minister’s office had to comply with requests for information about the PMNRF. </p>
<p>As transparency campaigner Lokesh Batra told me, the entire credibility of the new PM-CARES Fund relies upon Modi making appeals for donations. Its website uses a <a href="https://registry.gov.in/signupwarning.php">gov.in</a> domain which is reserved for government bodies. The fund is housed in the prime minister’s office and uses its address. Several of Batra’s right for information queries on the fund have also been <a href="https://thewire.in/government/pm-cares-fund-rti-blocked-pmo">denied since April</a>. </p>
<h2>Politics of transparency</h2>
<p>Those holding high office are often reluctant to be transparent about government affairs, fearing political consequences. During my PhD fieldwork on the right to information movement in India, I’ve been observing how information received under the act influences public perception about government performance. This information can be <a href="https://www.epw.in/engage/article/despite-free-and-fair-elections-our-idea-of-republic-is-at-risk">used by political opponents</a> to delegitimise those in power. Such competitive politics, however, helps to deepen democracy and keep the misuse of power in check. </p>
<p>When Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a majority in India’s 2014 election, it was helped by the previous Congress coalition falling prey to two major corruption scandals. Both these scandals, surrounding the allocation of <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/immersive/2g-scam-explained.html">2G spectrum</a> and the <a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/the-games-that-shamed-india-taint-that-tamed-cong-led-upa-18566">Commonwealth Games</a>, were brought to light through the <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/india/right-to-information-what-11-years-of-the-rti-act-of-2005-have-done-for-india-3047286.html">use of the RTI act</a>. </p>
<p>Now that the heat of public scrutiny is on the current BJP government in the middle of the pandemic, it’s their turn to demonstrate that donations to the PM-CARES Fund are being put to proper use.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144897/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vidya Venkat is affiliated with the National Campaign for People's Right to Information in New Delhi for research purposes. </span></em></p>Blocking citizen requests for information on a fund set up for COVID-19 relief undermines public trust in the government’s response to the pandemic.Vidya Venkat, PhD Candidate in Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1207382019-07-23T14:23:03Z2019-07-23T14:23:03ZGhana’s constitution is meant to protect the media: but does it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285356/original/file-20190723-110187-cq4x9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A journalist at work with his camera</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Between 1957 – the year Ghana won independence from British – and 1992 the country had <a href="http://ccms.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/staff-documents/Thesis_Examination_Update_1_1.sflb.ashx">three civilian heads of state</a> interspersed with several military rulers. But that year it finally embraced democratic rule and adopted a constitution.</p>
<p>One of the areas of protection the new constitution offered was the independence of the media and of expression. But are these enforced? And has the media felt their positive impact? </p>
<p>In my PhD <a href="http://ccms.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/staff-documents/Thesis_Examination_Update_1_1.sflb.ashx">thesis</a> published four years ago I explored whether <a href="http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/gha129754.pdf">Ghana’s constitution </a> had lived up to the promise set out in Chapter 12, Articles 162 and 163 in relation to media freedom. I concluded that though the Ghanaian Constitution had made some positive impacts, there were still some shortfalls. These included the media’s lack of a right to information. </p>
<p>I also observed that archaic laws still existed in the statute books and that the courts were imposing huge court fines which were crippling media outlets.</p>
<p>Two years ago <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2018.1455625">I published a study</a> that showed that the constitution had indeed marked a turning point for media liberalisation. It led to increased private ownership participation and broke the “culture of silence” around particular subjects. </p>
<p>The issue of media freedom, and the ability of journalists to be able to do their jobs without fear, has been in the headlines again recently following the arrest of two <a href="https://cpj.org/2019/07/two-ghanaian-journalists-arrested-on-cybercrime-ch.php">journalists</a> by members of the national security forces. Emmanuel Ajarfor Abugri and Emmanuel Britwum, who work for ModernGhana, were accused of hacking competitor emails as well as writing articles deemed offensive to the minister of national security. </p>
<p>Kwaku Addi, the Publisher of private newspaper, TodayGhanaNews recently expressed <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/news/942091/arrest-of-modernghana-journalist-is-an-attack-on-ghanaian-jo.html">concern </a> about recent attacks – including this one – on the media. He listed the fact that journalists had been <a href="https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2018/december-31st/ghana-shamefully-recorded-31-media-assaults-in-2018-updn.php">assaulted</a>, <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201504170406.html">kidnapped</a>, <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/17-journalists-attacked-in-15-months-The-sad-story-on-safety-of-journalists-in-Ghana-642221">beaten</a> and lynched. He also mentioned the fact that many media houses had been <a href="https://www.nca.org.gh/media-and-news/news/update-on-ncas-enforcement-action-on-fm-radio-stations-operating-with-expired-frequency-authorisations/">closed down</a> . He wrote: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>135 critical media houses have been closed down, including Radio Gold and Radio XZY, two journalists killed (Ahmed Suale and a lady in Ahafo Region), one investigative journalist (Manasseh Azzure Awuni) has been forced into exile, and one reporter in Upper West region (Emmanuel Adati) is in hiding to save his life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These trends show that the 1992 constitution had good intentions. Yet the state continues to capitalise on what it calls the “<a href="https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-calls-probe-ghanaian-website-journalists-torture-claims">national interest</a>” and “national security” to justify taking steps that amount to suppression of the media. </p>
<h2>The Constitution</h2>
<p>Prior to the passing of the <a href="http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/gha129754.pdf">1992 constitution</a> none of the country’s laws guaranteed media freedom in such extensive terms. This freedom covers all Ghanaian and gives the legal basis to challenge efforts to curtail media freedom. The constitution <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2018.1455625">also led to dramatic changes in</a> the landscape. </p>
<p>Prior to its passing, Ghana media had been dominated by well-established state-owned media houses. The constitution enabled growth in the private media sector as the newspaper licensing law was repealed, opening up the newspaper space. <a href="https://philipatawura.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/broadcasting-in-ghana/">Private radio stations</a> and television stations also sprung up. This in turn opened the door to much more critical coverage and debates. </p>
<p>The private media sector gradually began to make its presence felt. </p>
<p>Local radio stations and newspapers with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2018.1455625">national coverage</a> rapidly sprang up and were accessible to almost every district of Ghana. This meant that front-page news exposing corruption in Ghana became common. And journalists began to ensure that the public was fed information about government, businesses and other state interests in a way that opened these sectors to scrutiny.</p>
<p>The phasing out of government monopolies ushered in a new era of free expression. Ghana’s informal environment began to expand due to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2018.1455625">press liberalisation</a> in ways that previously were unimaginable. </p>
<p>These developments confirm the assertion that a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2018.1455625">symbiotic relationship</a> between media freedom and democratisation does exist. </p>
<p>But the paradox of the country’s constitution is that Ghana continues to have laws that can be used to curtain media freedom. One example was the <a href="https://ifex.org/criminal-libel-law-repealed/">Criminal Libel Law</a> which remained in place for nine years before its abrogation after fierce protests. </p>
<p>A another example is that it took until this year for the country to pass a <a href="http://ghana.gov.gh/index.php/media-center/news/5641-president-gives-accent-to-law-on-right-to-information">right to information law </a>. This will only come into effect in 2020. </p>
<p>This goes to show that media freedom was granted with unwilling undertones. </p>
<p>Other <a href="http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/gha129754.pdf">archaic laws</a> remain on the statute books. These include the Official Secrets Acts, Emergency Powers Acts 472 and the Criminal Code 1960. These laws allow the judiciary and other state agencies – like the police – to hinder a true expression of press freedom. </p>
<p>Another thorny and unresolved issue is the role of <a href="http://laws.ghanalegal.com/acts/id/182/national-media-commission-act">National Media Commission</a>. One of its functions is to promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media. Even though it’s existed since 1993, it has been <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/National-Media-Commission-too-timid-tame-and-weak-Ablakwa-619670">incapacitated</a> by a weak enforcement framework.</p>
<p>This leaves open the question of who fights for the fourth estate in Ghana.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120738/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacob Nyarko does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The state in Ghana still justifies taking steps that amount to suppression of the media.Jacob Nyarko, Lecturer of Communication Studies, University of Cape CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1082252019-01-04T14:17:45Z2019-01-04T14:17:45ZIndia: government continues to suppress citizens’ right to information ahead of election<p>Back in 2014, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ascended to power in India, it did so on the promise of running an open government accountable to its citizens that would eliminate corruption. But nearly five years later, and with an election due between March and May, the track record of Narendra Modi’s government on upholding citizens’ right to information has raised doubts about its commitment to accountability. </p>
<p>The BJP’s predecessors, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by the Indian National Congress party, were instrumental in passing the Right to Information (RTI) law <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/freedom-information-and-data-protection/international-focus/india">in 2005</a>. Its aim was to undo the culture of bureaucratic secrecy encouraged by the colonial Official Secrets Act of 1923. </p>
<p>For the first time, the law compelled government departments to provide official information in the form of records or documents to citizens when specific requests were made. This helped to <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/10/12/5-most-critical-scams-exp_n_8263302.html">expose corruption in government</a> as state authorities could no longer hide information on the way they made decisions, or spent taxpayer’s money. The exposés contributed to the UPA government’s political downfall at the 2014 elections. </p>
<p>Yet, ever since the RTI law was passed, successive governments have sought to suppress it one way or another. In recent years, public authorities affiliated to the central government have denied information to citizens under the law on matters of vital public interest. </p>
<h2>Requests blocked</h2>
<p>Take, for instance, the case of demonetisation, in which the government <a href="https://theconversation.com/indias-crackdown-on-cash-corruption-is-really-all-about-politics-68701">pulled high-value currency notes</a> out of circulation in 2016. It said the move was aimed at eradicating fake currency notes circulating in the economy, but demonetisation led to a severe cash crunch that had <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/30/india-demonetisation-drive-fails-uncover-black-money">spiralling effects on jobs and economic growth</a>. </p>
<p>When citizens filed RTI appeals with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about demonetisation, they were refused information on a range of queries from <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Were-Jaitley-CEA-consulted-on-demonetisation-RBI-refuses-to-answer-RTI-query/article16973579.ece">who had been consulted</a>, to the <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/RBI-refuses-to-give-reasons-behind-demonetisation/article16958525.ece">reasons behind the move</a> and the cost incurred by scrapping the banned notes. The central bank took refuge under the law’s exemption clause, which states that exemptions can be sought for information if disclosure would: “prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the state, relation with foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence”. While it’s up to the public information officer of each institution to decide on exemptions, these decisions can be appealed to the Central Information Commission (CIC), which settles information disputes. </p>
<p>But such denial of information amounts to a failure to come clean on a controversial decision that affected the lives of ordinary citizens in a big way. It’s not even clear whether demonetisation’s stated motive of <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/counterfeit-currency-demonetisation-financial-intelligence-unit/story/275324.html">removing fake notes</a> was actually achieved. </p>
<p>Another important ongoing case of denial of information regards a list of wilful loan defaulters held by the RBI. This came at a time when the Indian government has been <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/govt-planning-to-bar-91-defaulters-from-leaving-country/articleshow/63311882.cms">struggling to extradite businessmen</a> who fled the country after defaulting on billions of dollars of bank loans. After the CIC <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/disclose-what-action-taken-against-wilful-defaulters-over-rs-50-cr-loans-cic-to-govt-rbi/article24810277.ece">ordered the RBI</a> to release information on the loan defaulters, the central bank went to <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/wilful-defaulters-bombay-hc-stays-cic-fiat-to-rbi-on-list/article25750412.ece">court in mid December</a> to get a stay order, denying the release. </p>
<p>India’s Supreme Court had already <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/86904342/">pulled up the RBI</a> back in 2015 over its in-house “disclosure policy”, which violated provisions under the RTI law. The court ruled in favour of making disclosures, but the central bank has continued to deny information requests on matters of vital public interest. </p>
<p>In 2017, the Indian Air Force also denied an RTI request and refused to release crucial information related to the pricing of a deal for 36 Rafale aircrafts finalised between India and France, that has currently snowballed into a <a href="https://www.thequint.com/explainers/rafale-deal-controversy-explained">major corruption scandal</a>. </p>
<p>Another controversy pertains to the prime minister’s educational qualifications. In 2015, when Neeraj Sharma, an IT professional from Delhi, <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/narendra-modi-degree-delhi-university-cic-rti-high-court-956608-2017-01-23">sought to verify</a> Modi’s 1968 BA degree results from Delhi University – mentioned in his election affidavit – the information was expressly denied. When the CIC directed the university to disclose the information, the university went to the high court demanding a stay on the disclosure order. </p>
<p>The university <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/to-check-pm-modis-degree-aap-leaders-at-delhi-university-1404772">publicly confirmed</a> Modi’s degree was authentic, but still refuses to make the details accessible under the RTI. The legal case <a href="https://www.dailyo.in/politics/narendra-modi-delhi-university-fake-degree-bjp-education-in-india/story/1/22636.html#close-overlay">drags on</a>, with the next hearing due in early 2019. Requests for the release of details of the prime minister’s MA degree from Gujarat University were <a href="http://www.jantakareporter.com/india/gujarat-university-rejects-rti-request-on-pm-modis-masters-degree/13645/">also denied</a> under the RTI law. </p>
<p>In November 2016, the Supreme Court <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Election-of-candidates-can-be-set-aside-if-they-lie-about-education-SC/articleshow/55193763.cms">upheld</a> citizens’ right to know about the educational background of people contesting polls and held that the election of those lying in their affidavits could be set aside. </p>
<h2>Diluting the law</h2>
<p>Besides denying information, the BJP government has also proposed amendments to the RTI law, in which the central government seeks to control the salaries and tenures of the information commissioners. The effect would be to <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/sunlight-and-shadow/article24489371.ece">erode the independence</a> of the information commissions at the national level and in India’s states. It is the information commissions – which are vested with court-like powers to adjudicate information appeals denied by government departments – that actually give the law its teeth. </p>
<p>Since coming to office in 2014, the BJP government has <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/central-information-commission-4-members-retiring-this-month-8-of-11-cic-positions-to-be-vacant-5452689/">delayed making crucial</a> appointments to the CIC as vacancies have arisen and, as the end of 2018 approached, eight of the 11 posts for information commissioner were vacant. After activists went to the Supreme Court to demand speedy appointments to the commission, in late December the government <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/govt-appoints-sudhir-bhargava-as-new-chief-information-commissioner/article25869779.ece">announced</a> the appointment of a new chief information commissioner and four new information commissioners. While RTI activists hailed this as a small victory following months of protests, the government has refused to divulge information on the process adopted for vetting applicants for the job. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1077876975862251521"}"></div></p>
<p>At present more than <a href="https://dsscic.nic.in/cause-list-report-web/view-pending-cases">26,000 information appeals lie pending</a> before the commission, delaying availability of information to thousands of citizens using the RTI. The government has also dragged information commissioners to court. This is a <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/the-government-filing-cases-against-the-cic-would-be-almost-comic-if-it-were-not-an-attack-on-the-rationale-of-the-institution/cid/1678330">clear case of intimidation </a> of commissioners aimed at discouraging them from ordering disclosures of information that the government finds inconvenient. </p>
<p>Back in 2005, when India passed the RTI law, it was heralded as a revolutionary move to empower the people to hold those in power to account. But that task has been easier said than done. As India awaits yet another electoral battle later in 2019, the incumbent government has clearly failed to deliver on its promise of accountability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108225/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vidya Venkat does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When India goes to polls in 2019, the incumbent BJP government will have much to answer about its record on accountability.Vidya Venkat, PhD scholar in Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.