14 bodies expeditiously and inexpensively. The blockage of journalists from covering court proceedings of former Malawian President Peter Mutharika goes against the principle of accessing information from public bodiesin the public interest, and the standards of open justice and open parliament which require journalists to cover courts and parliaments on behalf of the public. Principle 28 also calls for maximum disclosure, stating that access to information may only be limited by narrowly defined exemptions, which shall be provided by law and shall comply strictly with international human rights law and standards. Under Principle 33 of the Declaration, information may only be legitimately withheld where the harm to the interest protected under the relevant exemption demonstrably outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the information, and such information may only be withheld for the period that the harm could occur. Further, it is a requirement to put in place laws that would allow exemptions including classification of information, which shall stipulate the maximum period of the classification and restrict classification only to the extent necessary, and not indefinitely. In order to legitimately withhold information, it must be proven that as a result of the disclosure, substantial prejudice may be caused to third parties including national security and safety of individuals. In this regard, Lesotho failed to meet the legal standards on classification of information, as stated under Principle 33. Despite having no access to information law in place, Lesotho conformed to Principle 29 of the Declaration through ensuring proactive disclosure by the Parliamentary Accounts Committee. Under proactive disclosure, public bodies are required, even in the absence of a specific request, to proactively publish and disseminate through available mediums, information of public interest, including information about their functions, powers, structure, officials, decisions, budgets, expenditure and other information relating to their activities. However, following the Transparency Assessment, where many public institutions denied citizens access to information, it is recommended that Lesotho enacts access to information laws as stipulated under Principle 26 of the Declaration, and further establishes an independent and impartial oversight mechanism to monitor, promote and protect the right of access to information and resolve disputes as per Principle 34. Namibia and Zambia’s efforts to enact access to information bills is a welcome step towards fulfilling Principle 26 of the Declaration, although we urge that these laws are in tandem with regional and international standards on access to information. However, Namibia’s preferential treatment of state media goes against Principle 14, which provides that States shall promote a diverse private media as vehicles for the development and dissemination of a variety of content in the public interest. Further, Zambia’s closure of media houses, and Eswatini’s ban on news articles also offends basic tenets of the right to freedom of expression and access to information under Principle 10, which includes the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, through any other form of communication or medium, including across frontiers. Under Principle 40 all have the right to privacy, including the confidentiality of their communications and the protection of their personal information. Any indiscriminate surveillance of personal communication, as threatened by Zimbabwe would infringe on Principle 41 of the Declaration which provides that States shall not engage in or condone acts of indiscriminate and untargeted collection, storage, analysis or sharing of a person’s communications. IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC Covid-19 has posed a threat to the already existing sustainability and viability issues faced by media houses. The pandemic led to significantly reduced budgets due to a slump in advertising revenue; and increased cost of production which has caused several lay-offs of journalists and media workers. Media houses have painfully had to suspend or downsize their print operations, with some opting for online operations and distribution, amidst technological challenges. The pandemic has also further revealed safety vulnerabilities of journalists, with some struggling to adapt to digital trends to curb the pandemic, while others lack safety gear. In Angola, Grupo Medianova, a privately owned media house, dismissed several journalists citing financial difficulties despite Presidential Decree 18/20, which prohibited dismissals during the state of emergency caused by the pandemic. The lack of personal protective equipment also reportedly led to eight journalists contracting the novel coronavirus in the capital, Luanda. In Botswana, the Botswana Gazette, after