SECTOR 1 Mention was also made of Green Hornet,18 a tool that journalists can use to protect their sources but still access information electronically. It makes the source of the document untraceable, “a technological version of the brown envelope”.19 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 4.0 (2010: 3.7; 2008: 1.6; 2006: 1.1) 1.7 Public information is easily accessible, guaranteed by law, to all citizens. South Africa does have the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA),20 which legally guarantees all citizens the right to access of information, although this is not enforced. Of concern is the Protection of State Information Bill, which, if passed, may undermine people’s access to certain kinds of information, in the name of national security. PAIA does make it a right that public information be made available, except if it is to be used for litigation purposes, which does limit people’s access to information somewhat. The Act also covers private information. “On paper, PAIA is very good, but in practice it can be terrible.” Also, even though legally one is allowed to apply for such information from a government department, it is not always a simple process and can take a minimum of three months. If such information is denied, one can go the very costly legal route. Sometimes government departments have also been known to refuse to divulge certain information. The National Department of Education was a cited example, with their recent refusal to release a report on learner transport and a registrar of learner needs. The ‘Zuma Spy Tapes’ scandal21 is another case in point and is one of three 18 Green Hornet is a user-friendly tool for African journalists to protect whistleblowers. 19 It should be made clear that in this context ‘brown envelope’ does not refer to a bribe or corruption, but an anonymous ‘tip off’ of information to the media, for example from a whistle-blower. 20 South Africa. Promotion of Access to Information, Act 2 of 2000. 21 The ‘Zuma Spy Tapes’ refers to recordings of intercepted phone conversations related to fraud and corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma. The tapes were used by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to drop the charges of corruption against Zuma, but the NPA refused to release the tapes to the public. In a case brought by the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, on 23 August 2013, the High Court ordered the NPA to submit a copy of AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2013 21