or incorrect definition of freedom of information. None of the MPs mentioned that it was their duty as elected officials to disseminate information to their constituents. Seventy per cent of respondents said that access to information laws in Namibia existed. Namibia does not have access to information laws. Threatened democracy Given this state of affairs, the MISA Secretariat, in 2007, launched the Golden Padlock Awards for governments in southern Africa that do not have access to information laws. Namibia might be in line to receive the award. This will impact negatively on the image and credibility of Namibia as a progressive and modern democracy. Government departments and even commercial banks have been criticised for not making information available to journalists who want to contribute further to the much-publicised fight against fraud and corruption. Against this background, the continuous threats of litigation severely threaten the work and livelihoods of especially investigative journalists, says freelance investigative journalist John Grobler, who is currently facing numerous law suits for exposing corruption and mismanagement in government. The weekly tabloid, Informanté, also currently has a number of law suits pending against it. Editor Max Hamata and journalists working for the tabloid are regularly threatened by those they expose of corruption and wrong-doing. Furthermore, a journalist working for a local current affairs magazine has been struggling for almost a year to get relevant government departments to give him information on a tender that was awarded to a company to distribute the monthly old age pensions and social grants. In a related incident, a One Africa Television news team were instructed by representatives of Westport Resources Mining Group (Forsys Metals), to leave the company’s Information Sharing public participation meeting in April. The reason they gave was that they had their own film crew and that One Africa could have their own production any time. They said the team could sit in but they were not allowed to record anything. The team carried on doing their job and managed to record some public concerns. On the day the insert was going to air, the News Editor received a phone call from a representative of the mining company, who requested that the material not be broadcast. When he was informed otherwise, he said the matter would be handed to their lawyers. Online media On the ICT front, technology is still too expensive and computers too scarce, especially in rural areas, to help make information truly accessible. However, the use of technology, especially mobile telecomunication devices, has contributed to civic participation and discussion of societal issues, as can be witnessed on the ‘SMS pages’ of local newspapers. National broadcasting The deteriorating situation at the NBC has become a subject of public concern. The Corporation continues to lose experienced staff to other media houses and the corporate world. It is widely accepted that the programme quality deteriorated further over the last year. NBC television’s most popular programme, the 8pm news, was not screened on several occasions because of “technical difficulties”. Callers to the NBC radio call-in programmes and participants of The So This Is Democracy? 2007 -66- Media Institute of Southern Africa