Angola On a lighter note, a refugee journalist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Roger Kamako, who arrived in Angola in April 2017, is working as a journalist at a UNICEF-created community radio station at a refugee camp in Dundo, far north-eastern Angola – just a few kilometres from the border with the DRC. He broadcasts health and hygiene information provided by NGOs, as well as requests from fellow refugees trying to locate lost relatives. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION The jury is still out on where Angola stands on freedom of expression. This is primarily due to the staggering number of radical changes introduced in the last quarter of the year by President João Lourenço, the effects of which have yet to be felt and analysed. For a better picture, please consult the section ‘Looking Forward to 2018’. Broadcasting October is ‘radio month’ in Angola in memory of the first visit by the first president of Angola to the studios of the national radio broadcaster in 1977. According to Angolan journalists, the new Press Law (the ‘mother’ law for the entire media sector), Law No. 1/17, is a step backwards, as it takes away hardwon conquests already enshrined in earlier legislation and fails to uphold the Windhoek Declaration regarding the national obligation to promote the media. Speaking at an event in the scope of radio month, a civil society activist voiced his disappointment at the new laws for the media sector approved early in 2016, which again failed to provide for community radio. He said there were no community radio stations in Angola in the true sense of the word; those that existed were mere extensions of the national radio. The SJA also felt strongly about the issue, stating that municipal radio stations created by the national radio are not community radio stations. “Only with freedom of expression and press freedom could the country move towards a true democracy – in as much as these are rights that are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, and which must be upheld by all.” President João Lourenço ACCESS TO INFORMATION Angola has had access to information (ATI) legislation from as far back as 2002, in fact, it was the first country in Africa to adopt an ATI law. In 2017, two additional laws were added, the Protection of Information Systems and Networks Law and the General Law on Archives, the latter being an instrument to preserve and enhancing the historical, cultural, documentary and archival heritage of the country, including documents abroad as long as they are considered property of or belonging to the Angolan State. So This is Democracy? 2017 15