commissioners. The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression was given report on violations of media freedom and freedom of expression and challenges facing the public and media outlets. At MISA’s invitation she has agreed to travel to Tanzania ahead of the 2010 elections. the proposed Media Commission Bill in Swaziland, as well as the Media Practitioners Act in Botswana. These bills will seriously inhibited the media’s work and gravely impact on citizens’ rights to access information. The Zambian government’s delaying tactics in passing the Freedom of Information Bill is very worrying. MISA has renewed his lobby for the passage of this bill. An additional strategy has been MISA’s targeting of specific aspects of the penal codes in Zambia, Tanzania, Swaziland, and Lesotho. An aggressive – and very costly – legal strategy will have to be implemented and is being provided for in MISA’s third strategic plan. CHALLENGES & LEARNING POINTS Alerts are very strong tool for lobbying and advocacy for media violations. MISA therefore plans to include top government officials of all SADC countries on its mailing list in order to supply them with MISA campaign information exposure on how serious media situation are deteriorating in their own countries. This process will strengthen MISA’s lobbying mechanism and foster changes in various countries. An increasing lack of tolerance and attempts to control the media has led some governments to apply outdated legislation to close down media houses. This was the case in Malawi where community and commercial broadcasters were closed down. Again, the application of the Newspaper Act in Tanzania does not bode well for media operations there. MISA has noted with great concern that despite strong interjection and resistance, more repressive laws continue to be passed by governments in Southern Africa. More examples of this include the Communication Bill in Namibia, 42