Pickets, protests and a show of force by the country’s print and broadcast media are on the cards on Tuesday when the bitterly contested Protection of State Information Bill comes before the National Assembly for a vote.
The National Assembly’s programming committee decided last Thursday to schedule the bill for on Tuesdya. The day is being called “black Tuesday” and South Africans are being asked to wear black to show their opposition to the bill.
While the ANC’s majority in the National Assembly is expected to ensure the bill will pass this hurdle on its way to becoming law, opposition parties are expected to make declarations at Tuesday’s sitting, setting out their reasons for opposing it.
Objectors have repeated their call on the ANC to “do the right thing” and introduce a public interest clause, to help protect civil society from the abuse of power.
Yusuf Abramjee, chairman of the National Press Club, told the Cape Argus on Monday: “It’s crunch time – time for us all to stand up, to unite and say to this government that we will not sit back and have our constitutional rights taken away from us … that you cannot infringe on our rights.”
He urged members of the media to pack the public gallery in Parliament, “to send a clear message to MPs” about the bill’s dangers.
In a statement on Monday, he said that the NPC’s likening of Tuesday’s vote to the infamous 1977 Black Wednesday, was “nothing short of a reckless hyperbole aimed at peddling misinformation and distorting history”.
The vote was originally scheduled for Wednesday.
Western Cape premier Helen Zille told the Cape Argus on Monday: “In history, this will be seen as a watershed moment. Because it will be the moment the ANC completely cut itself loose from its moorings linked to those values that inspired the struggle against apartheid.
“It gives licence to power abusers to classify documents that are in their interest to keep secret,” she said, adding that the ANC’s support for the bill had direct relevance to President Jacob Zuma’s personal situation.
“Jacob Zuma is publicly committed to fighting corruption, yet he’s never dealt with the charges against him.
“And he has since appointed (Mac) Maharaj as his spokesman … they don’t want the truth to come out,” Zille alleged.
Zille’s counterpart in the Western Cape legislature, the ANC’s Lynne Brown, said: “There are too many checks and balances built into the bill (to be concerned). I support it.”
The national co-ordinator of Right2Know, Murray Hunter, said that while the bill was now limited to core state security bodies, its long-term impact could include fuelling a culture of unaccountability, of secrecy being cited by different spheres of government as a reason for denying the public information.
“I’m particularly concerned about the long-term effects on service delivery and accountability,” he said.
Hunter said the bill left “every South African” vulnerable.
Once approved by the National Assembly, the bill has to go before the National Council of Provinces ( NCOP).
Pressure is expected to be applied on the NCOP to conduct its own round of public hearings on the bill, which could take the process into the new year.
It could set up its own ad hoc committee or refer it to an existing committee, which could then hold provincial hearings and take submissions.
The NCOP can pass the bill as it stands, pass it subject to amendments proposed by it, or reject the bill. If it passes the bill unchanged, it then goes to Zuma for his signature to become law.
Should the NCOP amend the bill, the new version will have to go back to the National Assembly again to be re-considered, with the amendments.
The National Assembly can pass the bill again, either with or without the amendments, or decide not to proceed with the bill.
Once approved by the National Assembly it will be sent to Zuma.
However, this will still not be the end of the road.
Zuma can himself refer the bill back to the National Assembly for reconsideration if he has doubts about its constitutionality.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe promised earlier this month that the ANC would not use its majority to “ram through” a bill not aligned with the constitution.
Zuma can also refer the bill to the Constitutional Court.
Under Section 80 of the constitution, MPs can apply to the Constitutional Court for an order declaring that all or part of an Act of Parliament is unconstitutional.
The application has to be supported by one-third of the National Assembly, and must be made within 30 days of the date on which the president has signed the bill into law.
* Right2Know protests will be held outside Parliament, from 1pm to 2pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. - Cape Argus