Opposition parties slam eThekwini's 'secrecy' by-law
There's been reaction from political parties over a newly introduced eThekwini by-law barring media and members of the public from attending certain council meetings.
The Rules of Order Amendment By-law was approved at a full council sitting yesterday.
This now means citizens and the media won't be allowed to attending sittings where confidential or privileged information will be disclosed or where sensitive matters will be discussed.
The DA's Zwakele Mncwango says this smacks of apartheid-era tendencies.
"It's actually one of those times where we are being reminded of apartheid times and how the apartheid government was working around secrecy where the public were denied information," he says.
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The IFP's Narend Singh says this limits the media's ability to perform its duty.
"The IFP would like all information available for the pubic at all times. We've had instances where members of the public and the media go to court and the courts had even ruled that information should be made available to the media. The media is a very important tool in the hands of administrations and politicians to transmit messages," he says.
eThekwini says claims the by-law is unconstitutional are incorrect.
It says the Constitution provides for certain meetings to be closed to the public subject to the nature of the issues being discussed.