equitable development, if you cannot enfranchise poor people, if they do not have a right to expression, if there is no searchlight on corruption and inequitable practices, you cannot build the public consensus needed to bring about change” - James D. Wolfensohn, former President of the World Bank 2013 also marks the launch of the Pan African Parliament’s press freedom campaign under the proposed theme: “Press Freedom for Development and Governance: Need for Reform”. We welcome this important initiative and applaud our legislators for their insight into the link between press freedom and development. Indeed media can have a positive influence on poverty reduction and a country’s economic growth. Media freedom is strongly correlated with overall development processes and positively enables the communication of development information. A free media contributes to the establishment of an environment in which development objectives can be successfully achieved. At the same time, free and independent media can only properly function in an enabling environment, characterised by the manifestation of rights to freedom of expression and access to information. «5HIOHFWLQJ This 19th edition of So This Is Democracy? documents numerous media freedom and freedom of expression violations that MISA recorded in southern Africa during the course of 2012. In this report, we attempt to analyse numerous incidents that have impacted on media freedom and the free expression landscape in the region. We also attempt to shed light on emerging issues that require deeper interrogation. Enjoy the read! Zoe Titus Regional Director zoe@misa.org