Patricia de Lille, South African member of parliament (MP), has agreed to subject herself to a week`s worth of global scrutiny - to be streamed across the Internet. In a move thought to be a first of its kind, the PAC MP will be the focus of a Webcam placed opposite her desk in her parliamentary office.
The arrangement has been orchestrated by Get A Life, gAL.co.za, the student Web site that has gained renown over the past year for its sometimes controversial interpretation of current events.
"The Webcam will be switched on during office hours," says John Kuhn, spokesman for gAL.co.za, "and sometimes after hours, as Patricia keeps herself busy into the night."
Political voyeurs won`t be able to eavesdrop, though, as no audio will be broadcast in accompaniment.
The issues are of bandwidth and privacy, says Kuhn, who began approaching various political parties with the idea just last week. "It happened in a matter of days. Patricia was one of the first we approached, and a few days later, she was the first to agree."
De Lille`s agreement to participate is "amazing", says Kuhn. "Even though there`ll be no sound, it`s still an invasion of privacy."
"As parliament will be in session during the broadcast, my office will be very busy," says De Lille. "You`ll be able to watch as we work on the R32 billion South African arms scam. I`ll also be meeting with members of the Cape Town community who are taking action against a chemical factory for alleged harm they`ve caused to these people. There`ll be lots happening."
De Lille says her fascination with the advancements in technology prompted her to agree to the project. "I think it`ll be fun, and an opportunity to change the perception of an MP`s duties. There`s another side that`s never exposed, and I`d like to make that side of things clear."
Should it prove cost-effective, De Lille supports the idea of an ongoing Webcam project. "I also think that for a start, MPs should draw lots each week, to provide random exposure to different members of parliament. It`s quite exciting - it`s a whole new way of ensuring accountability."
Although bandwidth is a major cost factor, Kuhn believes that politicians are essentially public servants, and as such, the public should be allowed to see how they spend their time. The arrangement has piqued major media interest, he says, and has even been covered by BBC`s World Service report.
Despite the media attention, Kuhn is not expecting a tidal wave of page impressions. "I think that while people are interested, they`d much rather watch animals in a game reserve than animals in parliament."
The Webcast service will be hosted by M-Web`s Cape Town operation. Kuhn has approached the ANC and the Democratic Alliance as well, and says the former expressed interest, and promised an answer by Friday.
Kuhn says while it was feared that the installation of an ISDN line would be the most time-consuming part of the initiative, Telkom reacted much faster than expected - it took five hours between request and implementation.
The Webcast starts on Monday, 30 October and will run until Friday, 3 November. The action will take place at www.gal.co.za, which will also feature a daily highlights package.
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