Cape Town - The National Assembly extended the deadline for finalising the controversial Protection of Information Bill on Thursday by three months to September 23.
Lawmakers unanimously agreed with a motion tabled by ANC Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga to extend the lifespan of the committee drafting the bill to this date.
The deadline has been moved several times under pressure from journalists, rights activists and legal experts, who have described the bill as an attempt to muzzle the media and return to apartheid-style state secrecy.
Motshekga's office said this week the extension would “afford parliamentarians sufficient time to administer the bill with thoroughness and precision, taking into consideration a wide range of views already expressed during the public consultation process”.
It said the ANC was confident there would be no further extensions.
The committee was supposed to have completed its work on the bill and reported to the Assembly by June 24.
However, the ANC ran into strong opposition inside and outside Parliament last month after stating that it would not tolerate indefinite debate on the bill and began putting contentious clauses to the vote.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) published a scathing analysis of the bill and threatened a Constitutional Court challenge should it be passed in its current form.
Later on Thursday, the state security ministry welcomed the decision to extend the life of the committee.
“This decision vindicates the Minister's (Siyabonga Cwele) position that there is no truth to allegations of the bill being 'bulldozed by the ANC in Parliament', a claim made by those who are vehemently opposed to this bill,” it said in a statement.
“We reiterate the call for a sober deliberation and public debate on this bill which accurately reflects the totality of opinions and positions from all sectors, particularly the ANC and government.”
The ministry said it noted with concern “repeated attempts by those who are opposed to this bill to undermine the work that has been done, since the bill was introduced in the public domain”.
The committee had made considerable progress on a number of issues raised and continued to be raised by civil society organisations and critics of this bill.
The ministry said it was confident the committee would remain focused on resolving the contentious issues and producing legislation which would strengthen the state's ability to discharge its constitutional duties and mandates.
In a separate statement, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said it, and the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Law, had co-convened another focus group on the bill on Thursday.
This was a follow-up to the one convened on June 8, and again brought together representatives of key stakeholder structures of the state and of civil society.
State structures represented were the justice department, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and the National Intelligence Agency.
From civil society were Cosatu, the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, the Institute for Security Studies, the Khulumani Support Group, the Mapungubwe Institute, Media Monitoring Africa, the Open Society Foundation, Public Service Accountability Monitor, the Right2Know Campaign, South African History Archive and the South African National Editors' Forum.
They identified areas of concern requiring further urgent attention by Parliament.
The extension to the parliamentary drafting process was also welcomed, the foundation said. - Sapa