This week 20 years ago, journalists, lawyers and activists gathered in the Namibian capital of Windhoek to deliberate on the state of Africa's media. Little did they know then that this would set the ball rolling for a movement that would catapult the quest for the free flow of information to being one of humanity's top priorities. Namibia, which had become an independent republic in 1990, could still smell the fresh scent of freedom in the air. If ever there was a place to launch an idealistic initiative, that was it. It helped, too, that the winds of democratisation were blowing through the world. The dictatorships of Eastern Europe were collapsing, agitation for true liberation was gaining momentum in an Africa that had been betrayed by its post-independence political leadership and, in South America, the juntas were in retreat.

Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Windhoek document stated that the "establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation and for economic development". The declaration went on to say that "the trend towards democracy and freedom of information and expression is a fundamental contribution to the fulfilment of human aspirations".

After Windhoek, other regions of the world adopted similar declarations, modified to suit their respective conditions. Such was the impact of Windhoek that, by 1993, the UN General Assembly had adopted and declared May 3 - the day of its birth - World Press Freedom Day. Every year since then, the world has paused to pay tribute to the profession of journalism, to honour those who have died and suffered in the service of truth, and to reaffirm the centrality of information flow in the human rights universe.

Windhoek gave substance to the 1946 vision of the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As media academic Guy Berger puts it, Windhoek was "Africa's enduring gift to the globe".

This week, the world reaffirmed its commitment to the Windhoek document. From Washington to Lusaka, thousands gathered to condemn continued repression of the media in many parts of the world and to pledge themselves to ensuring that all citizens enjoy the right to receive and impart information.

At commemorations organised by the World Association of Newspapers and the Media Institute of Southern Africa, the continent's editors noted that while governments had committed themselves to ensuring the free flow of information, this was often observed in breach rather than in practice.

Journalists are jailed, killed and harassed in many parts of our continent. Newspapers, broadcast outlets and online media are restricted or shut down. Archaic laws remain on the statutes of many countries.

In some countries, including the great republic down south, there have been attempts to railroad new laws and measures which go against the spirit of Windhoek. A popular weapon used by governments is to institute advertising boycotts against critical media, thus illegally using state resources to fight their battles. Although this tactic has been successfully challenged in the courts of Botswana and South Africa, politicians and officials still seem to believe that the public purse belongs to them. In Namibia, Africa's number-one-ranked country in terms of media freedom, there is a 10-year-old boycott of The Namibian, one of the nation's most popular newspapers.

It may seem odd to be writing about media issues at a time when the nation is gripped (well, sort of) by the local government elections campaign.

But it is precisely because it is election time that information flow is important. The people who want to be elected councillors are crisscrossing the country, making all sorts of promises to the electorate. They walk into homes and stand on street corners and on podiums, engaging with potential voters. They are answering questions in person and in the media.

It is the way it should be all the time.

But once they are elected, they will retreat into the impenetrable shell of city hall, from where they will stymie the flow of information. "Private and confidential" will be stamped on innocuous pieces of paper.

If South Africa is to be a country that cherishes the free flow of information and wants an informed citizenry, it needs to instil a culture of openness among elected officials.

How wonderful it would be if every councillor who is elected on May 18 - from the metro mayors to the rural representatives - were to pledge themselves to ensuring maximum openness on the respective councils; to shine a light on every nook and cranny of their council work, whether they are in opposition or on the governing side.

That would strike a great blow against those who do dealings in the dark and those who do not do the jobs they are elected to. Informed citizens would then be able to partake in the lives of their communities from an empowered position.

That would be in the spirit of Windhoek.

-May 8, 2010 by Mondli Makhanya

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Source: www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article1055883.ece/Councillors-embracing-openness (accessed on 09.05.11)