SANEF protests censorship of parliament live feed

It has requested a speedy arrangement of a meeting to discuss the issues and find lasting solutions that would allow media to fulfil its constitutional role of informing South Africans fully and in an unbiased manner. This is because at a press conference convened by the presiding officers on Friday 14 November 2014 no clarity was provided about who ordered the feed to be cut.

On Thursday, the feed was cut off at a time when there were scuffles. This followed two other incidents on August 21 and last week when a member of the opposition was arguing with the Speaker ending with that Member being suspended. In this latter instance, the feed was manipulated to stay focussed on the Speaker, thus not allowing the public to get the full picture of the on goings in the House.

Sanef reiterates its call for Presiding Officers in Parliament to ensure that there is no censorship of the debates in the House, irrespective of the content of those debates and the need for Presiding Officers to protect the image of the House.