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Deputy speaker of the National Assembly Lechesa Tsenoli has promised to take up the matter of media restrictions planned for Thursday’s state of the nation address.
In a heated press conference on Tuesday, journalists queried the stringent security plans for Zuma’s speech – colloquially called Sona – which will see journalists confined in a “media square” and escorted by security when moving within the precinct.
This would be a first since the establishment of the democratic Parliament. Accredited journalists have previously been able to move in and around the parliamentary precinct, although in recent years there have been attempts to put a squeeze on this space by security personnel.
Tsenoli led a press conference that was supposed to be about Parliament’s readiness for the event but ended up being an hour-long session about media restrictions and media freedoms.
Tsenoli said he was unaware about such security plans or who concocted the story of a “media square” corralling journalists.
When Tsenoli dismissed as rumours the plan to restrict the media, a journalist read him the parliamentary document which refers to journalists being restricted to a media square.
Besides, the Press Gallery Association – an association of journalists based in Parliament – was informed by officials from Parliament’s communication unit about 10 days ago of the “media square”, security escorts for journalists covering the event and other plans for the media on the day.
“I want to assure members [that] there will be no restrictions for media to do their work around Parliament,” said Tsenoli.
“I assume the status quo remains. I don’t know where the idea of a ‘media square’ comes from … nothing in what we are planning is intended to restrict the movement of journalists here,” he added. Tsenoli said Parliament had ultimate responsibility of its security, although it did work with the security cluster of government.
“As far as I am concerned there should be no reason for restrictions as happened in the past.”
Tsenoli promised to pursue the matter and get back to the media on Wednesday.
The Press Gallery Association was also scheduled to meet the secretary to Parliament, Gengezi Mgidlana, about the matter this evening.
Days ahead of the February 2015 Sona, Parliament assured journalists that there were no new security plans for that event but a signal jammer was deployed and an army of men and women in black and white escorted Economic Freedom Fighters MPs out of the chamber when they interrupted President Jacob Zuma’s speech.
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