reports undermining the authority of the President and publication of false statements prejudicial to the State. The enactment of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) in mid-March 2002 dealt the greatest blow to freedom of speech and press freedom. The Act creates an all-powerful governmentappointed Media and Information Commission (MIC), which is nonrepresentative of diverse journalistic interests. The MIC has quasijudicial and investigative powers, which usurp the function of the courts and the police respectively, and which allow it to unjustifiably and unconstitutionally intrude in the affairs of media houses and professionals. The enforcement of these two Acts have greatly contributed to the increased assault on the private media and the denial of freedom of expression and it has further impeded the free flow of information to the public inside and outside Zimbabwe. B2. In South Africa, hailed as a model for the rest for the region, tension arose when parliament announced that it would relocate the current press gallery outside parliament. The media saw the move as an attempt to make parliament inaccessible. Furthermore, the publication of the Broadcasting Amendment Bill raised serious concerns over the government's attempt to compromise the independence of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) News. Number of alerts by country Number of alerts by country (April 2002 - March 2003) 120 100 Angola 80 Botswana Lesotho Malawi Mozambique 60 Namibia South Africa Swaziland Tanzania 40 Zambia Zimbabwe 20 0 1 Monitored countries in SADC (See legend) Monitored countries in SADC However, good news came in October 2002 with the announcement of a last-minute amendment to the controversial Broadcasting Amendment Bill which stated that the SABC board would fall under the control of the 12