20100924
reuters

DURBAN (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling African National Congress has decided to press ahead with a media review tribunal that has been widely criticised as a move to muzzle the press reminiscent of apartheid-era censorship regulations.

A commission discussing the media at the ANC's National General Council, a policy meeting for the group that enjoys virtual one-party rule, said the tribunal was needed because current regulations were not good enough.

Pallo Jordan, a senior ANC official who was a leader at the media discussion panel, told reporters on Thursday the party planned to refer the measure to MPs for review but gave no timeframe on when that may happen.

"The existing self-regulating system...is ineffective and needs to be strengthened to balance the rights of the media and those of other citizens," Jordan said.

He cited a newspaper soon to be launched by the ANC as an example of what the panel considered to be a free press.

The proposed Media Appeals Tribunal is designed to investigate complaints and punish irresponsible reporting, the ANC has said.

Media organisations say the tribunal is an attempt to crush investigative reporters who regularly expose corruption and hold the government accountable in the country with Africa's largest economy.

Reporters Without Borders said in a statement on Thursday: "We are amazed that the ANC keeps on coming up with this kind of measure which, if implemented, would represent a dramatic step backwards".