ANALYSIS OF COVID-19 REGULATIONS VIS-À-VIS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE SADC REGION languages that are understood by marginalized populations considering that a majority of information is still being disseminated in the socalled official languages of English and French that are a legacy of colonialization. In addition, televised communication should include sign language interpretation. Concerning children, age appropriate information should be produced and disseminated to assist them in understanding the crisis and ways of protecting themselves. The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa identifies relevant principles that reinforce proactive disclosure of information held by public bodies and relevant private bodies, as a basic principle in the access to information ecosystem.122With COVID-19 spreading rapidly across the SADC region, “there has never been a greater need for accurate news and information to help people stay informed and safe. Yet, the authorities across the region are targeting journalists and media houses for their critical reporting on the pandemic, which is weakening this vital information flow”.123In the absence of credible information, “there is a high probability that the credible information void will be filled with false information, hence the need for authorities and relevant stakeholders to adopt robust communication strategies underpinned by the principle of proactive disclosure”.124 The COVID-19 disaster has validated the necessity for access to credible information that facilitates public dialogue and public participation.119In public emergences, states have additional obligations to ensure that information is publicly available as it is the right of the people to be informed so that they understand the health risks that they are facing and to enable public participation in response processes and efforts. 120 This position has been emphasised by the African Commission in a press statement wherein it noted that Proactive disclosure means that those with the information that is relevant to the COVID-19 circumstance such as records should release without prompting. The lack of proactive disclosure of information, can be attributed to a culture of secrecy which is also manifest in some governments’ response to COVID-19. Proactive disclosure of credible information minimises the chances of confusing the public with conflicting messages. South Africa proactively discloses COVID-19 information “In times of public health emergencies, members of the public have the right to receive factual, regular, intelligible and science-based information on the threat COVID-19 poses to their health, the role and impact of the measures adopted for preventing and containing the virus, the precautionary measures that members of the public should take, and on the scale of the spread.” 121 119 ‘Cross-Regional Statement on “Infodemic” in the Context of COVID-19’ https://unny.mission.gov.au/files/unny/120620%20CrossRegional%20Statement%20on%20Infodemic%20in%20the%20Context%20of%20COVID-19.pdf (accessed 22 June 2020). 120 I Fevola & D Banisar ‘Ensuring the Public’s Right to Know in the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) Article 19 5 121 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Press Statement on human rights based effective response to the novel COVID-19 virus in Africa, 24 March 2020, https://www.achpr.org/pressrelease/detail?id=483 (accessed 22 June 2020). 122 Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa 123 D Muchena n 21 above. See also https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/disinfodemic_deciphering_covid19_disinformation.pdf 124 H Dube ‘COVID-19 and the access to information conundrum in Africa’ 10 April, 2020 https://africlaw.com/2020/04/10/covid-19and-the-access-to-information-conundrum-in-africa/#more-1687 (accessed 22 June 2020). https://zimbabwe.misa.org 25