South Sudan Broadcasting Media Bill Passes Second Reading
The South Sudan National Assembly (SSNA) on Tuesday passed the media Broadcasting Bill into its third reading after a thorough debate by the parliamentarians. 16 May 2013 Journalists have accused the government of deliberately withholding approval of media laws making it impossible for journalists and publishers to invoke their rights to freedom of expression and media freedoms.[Gurtong | File] By Waakhe Simon Wudu JUBA, 16 May 2013 [Gurtong] - Chaired by the Deputy Speaker Hon. Daniel Awet, the bill was presented in its second reading to the House by the Information Committee Chairperson Hon. Joy Kwaje and was later referred back to the Committee for further fine-tuning. Hon. Adigo Nyikwec, the leader of the Minority in the August House commended that passing of the bill is important and that it guarantees freedom of press and expression as enshrined in the Transitional Constitution. Boboya James, Program Coordinator of the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) who was present in monitoring debate on the passing of the bill commended, saying he was “impressed” with the will the MPs have on the passing of the bill. He welcomed the changes added by the MPs saying they are relevant and are in line with regional and international practices. “It is a very good start that if the parliament is for the media bills the parliament is for democracy, accountability and transparency and that the rule of law in this country will be realized,” Boboya told Gurtong exclusively. “When I saw the debates it tells me that 70% of the MPs have a very strong will to make sure that these bills are passed. And it also tells how much the President has willed and likewise the MPs should have,” he added. NPA was financially and technically involved in supporting the development of the media bills through the Association of Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) before they reached to the parliament. In March 2012, three bills for media legislation were introduced to the Cabinet, then submitted to the National Legislative Assembly but they are still awaiting final approval and enactment. These laws are the Right to Access to Information Bill (no. 54), the Broadcasting Corporation Bill (no. 53) which plans to transform the state-run South Sudan Radio and South Sudan Television into national public service broadcasters and the Media Authority Bill (no. 52) which aims to establish an independent regulatory body for media. Journalists in South Sudan have accused the government of deliberately withholding approval of these laws as the legal vacuum makes it impossible for journalists and publishers to invoke their rights to freedom of expression and media freedoms as well as to access official information. Posted in: Home, Parliaments, Media News -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
