“Park Views”

A series of short talks, on current issues, delivered by experts, sometimes living close to Parkview!

Dr. Dale McKinley will talk on:

   “The Real Fear Factor:  Secrecy as the Mask of Power” .

At St.Francis Anglican Church,  46 Tyrone Avenue (corner Roscommon), Parkview

On Thursday 11th September

At 6pm (sharp) till 7pm.

Secrecy has always been one of the most dangerous enemies of democracy. Any meaningful democracy, by its very nature, demands openness, transparency and accountability – these are the currencies of democratic freedom. On the other hand secrecy, as human history has so often shown, is the currency of authoritarianism (whatever the ideological variety), of social, economic and political control by those for whom the securing and maintenance of power is the ultimate goal.

The presentation will look at what constitutes the secrecy agenda (inclusive of the Secrecy Bill) in contemporary South Africa, why this is the case and what the Right2Know Campaign has done and continues to do in response.

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Dale T. McKinley is an independent writer, researcher and lecturer as well as political activist, based in Johannesburg. He is a long time social and political activist and has been involved in social movement, community and political struggles for over three decades. Dale holds a PhD. in Political Economy/African Studies from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), USA.

Dale has been (and remains) actively involved in several political and social movements. He is the Gauteng spokesperson for the Right2Know Campaign and sits on its National Working Group.

The Right2Know Campaign (R2K) is a nation-wide coalition of people and organisations opposed to the Protection of Information Bill – also known as the Secrecy Bill – currently before the South African parliament. The Bill will threaten hard-won constitutional rights including access to information and freedom of expression.