The Swaziland Government has been accused of trying to
close down the press with the publication of a new Bill to bar public servants
from disclosing any information about their work that relates to ‘public policy’.
They will also be prevented from talking about the economic
strategy of the kingdom.
The new Public Service Bill also states civil servants must
not ‘publish in any manner anything which may be reasonably regarded as of a
political or administrative nature’.
The Bill was published earlier this month and is due to
be debated in parliament before being signed into law by King Mswati III,
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
It is being seen in Swaziland, where censorship of the
media is tight, as a further way of keeping information from the Swazi people.
Quinton Dlamini, President of the public service union NAPSAWU,
said the Bill was, ‘nonsense because it’s difficult to draw the line on
information that is confidential or not’.
He told local media, ‘There is nothing
private about government. All that they do has to be public. They use our
money, so as citizens, we have to know how our money is spent.’
He added, ‘It means we won’t know what’s happening in
government. In short, they’re closing down the press. It means everything has
to come out through the Government Press Secretary.’
He said the media would find it difficult to break
stories because government would demand that journalists divulge sources of
information.
Part of the Bill reads, ‘Whether on duty or on leave of
absence, a public officer shall not (except with due authority) allow oneself
to be interviewed on questions of, or connecting with any matter affecting or
relating to public policy, security or strategic economic interests or
resources of Swaziland.’
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