Regional outlook Seventeen years after the Windhoek Declaration on media freedom, the media environment in southern Africa remains a far cry from what was envisaged in 1991. While the state of media freedom in several countries has shown considerable progress, the situation in some countries has regressed alarmingly, often to a level worse than the repressive colonial or one-party environments of the 1970s and 1980s. The media environment in Zimbabwe, characterised by arrests, beatings and torture of journalists and the general subjugation of free expression, is arguably worse than at independence in 1980. Ten years after a bloody civil war in Angola, the media environment faces undue pressure from an extremely sensitive government. Swaziland’s media, 35 years after the infamous royal declaration condemning political and human rights and three years after a new constitution, is still characterised by repression and uncertainty. Lesotho, meanwhile, is becoming the new media battleground of southern Africa as the government clamps down and displays zero tolerance for dissenting views. The biggest and most unexpected media retrogression has been in South Africa, a country where the media policies and overall environment have been showcased as a successful African model of democracy. The threats of a media tribunal posed by the ruling ANC government, the deterioration of confidence in and ensuing tussle for control over the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), as well as the proposed protection of information law, are serious media threats, not just for South Africa but the entire region. With South Africa’s immense political and social economic influence throughout Africa, the current developments pose a continental counter-effect with an immeasurable capacity to undo progress achieved in the last 17 years. On a positive note, Zambia enjoyed a good year with a landmark Supreme Court ruling on media freedom, while a constitutional review process is currently underway and seeks to uphold media freedom and constitutionally guarantee the right to information. Challenges In 2007, the four most oppressive and media-unfriendly countries in the region were Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Angola and Swaziland. In addition to the three repressive media laws in Zimbabwe – the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), and the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) – the government passed another law, the Interception of Communications Act (ICA). As the name suggests, this act allows the government to intercept electronic communication (e-mails and telephone calls) in Zimbabwe, which has recorded the highest number of media violations in the region for the last five years. In 2007, Lesotho followed Zimbabwe closely in terms of reported media freedom violations as well as the general suppression of media freedom. The Angolan media policy environment is, in many ways, as bad as that of Zimbabwe with journalists struggling to conduct their work while police raid media houses and arrest journalists. In Swaziland, meanwhile, there is but one law: the wishes of the King. Namibia, normally hailed as one of the continent’s most media-friendly countries, is beginning to display the all-too-familiar signs of media repression. In February, the government announced plans to set up a state-controlled media council. 12 Annual Report 2008