English and said that its accounts were audited by Deloitte & Touche, with regular reports to the National Treasury Directorate and the Auditor-General’s Office. Repressing Law After more than a decade in limbo, Angola in November of 2016 finally promulgated a number of pieces of legislation contemplated in the Press Law of 2006. The Press Law itself has been updated to ensure compatibility with the new constitution (2010). The new text was penned by none other than President Eduardo Dos Santos himself. Besides a new version of the Press Law, the sudden impetus came with a new addition, the creation of the Entidade Reguladora da Comunicação Social Angolana (ERCA) – the new body now responsible for media regulation, replacing the Conselho Nacional de Comunicação Social. ERCA – to be created in terms of the ERCA Law – will in essence be the final arbiter over most aspects of the media, especially the practice of journalism. MISA-Angola expressed concern at the composition of the 13-member body, to be made up of 11 representatives of political parties and 2 from among media professionals. Under the guise of offering professional assistance to media organisations to ensure they are in compliance with laws and regulations, ERCA will “organise and maintain a database on behalf of media organisations and companies subject to ERCA supervision, to permit assessment of their compliance with the law”. ERCA will have the power to “enforce compliance with professional journalistic ethics and standards”; “enforce compliance with any applicable laws, regulations and technical requirements within the scope of its competence”; and “verify compliance by radio and television operators with both the generic and specific aims and conditions of their respective char- 14 So This is Democracy? 2016 ters and activities”. Furthermore, ERCA will have the right to investigate, and adjudicate complaints about potential or actual “transgression of the legal or regulatory norms” not just from “interested parties” but also “on its own initiative”. It bears reminding that this is a body that will be governed by political parties, in a composition that mirrors national political strength, in other words, with a majority of MPLA members. “Licensing requirements are inconsistent with international law on freedom of information. The issue is not what Article 19 says; the issue is its enforceability and the use of international law as a tool of litigation in support of prosecuted journalists when you are arguing in domestic courts” – Enrique Armijo, media lawyer, Washington, USA