The postponement of the National Assembly debate on the Protection of State Information Bill has been widely welcomed, but concerns remain over the “real reasons” for the delay and whether it is not merely to pressure dissenting ANC members to toe the party line.
The bill was scheduled for its second reading debate in the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, but the ANC said on Monday that it believed there was a need for Parliament to consult more widely on it.
Right2Know, a coalition of civil society bodies opposed to the bill, welcomed the development, saying it was important to recognise a crucial victory for civil society.
Right2Know activist Sithembile Mbete welcomed the announcement as “a huge victory for the people”.
“It shows what can be done when people mobilise, when they organise and when they really (demand) their democratic and constitutional rights,” she said.
But Mbete also warned that, while this was a “significant battle won”, it was not the end.
“I think there is a worry that this (delay) is just being used as an opportunity to buy some time to place pressure on the ANC MPs who would have been reluctant to vote (in favour) of the bill tomorrow (Tuesday) and that this (time) will be used to put some pressure on them – to get them to toe the party line. We hope this is not the case.”
Mbete said the Right2Know campaign would continue with its “mobilisation” and being “vigilant” to ensure there was no “backtracking” by the ANC on concessions it had made on the bill.
She suggested that the broad public campaign against the bill seemed to have “empowered” ANC MPs opposed to the bill to “speak their minds”, even if this was happening only within the party and behind closed doors.
Cosatu welcomed the postponement, but refused to take credit for the development.
Spokeswoman Phindile Kunene said although Cosatu had continually engaged the ANC publicly and privately on the bill, “we are not sure what might have led to the delay”.
Kunene reiterated that the bill as it stood was “fundamentally problematic”.
She said Cosatu would continue to register its concerns with the ANC.
Earlier this year, Cosatu said it would challenge the legislation in the Constitutional Court unless its demand was met for the inclusion of greater protection for whistle-blowers.
The SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) also welcomed the ANC’s decision to delay voting on the bill, pending further consultation.
“This is an important opportunity to ensure that the proposed legislation meets the standards required in an open and democratic society,” the forum said on Monday.
Sanef said that despite improvements made during the parliamentary process, the bill remained deeply flawed.
“It fails appropriately to weigh the state’s legitimate need for secrecy in narrowly defined matters of national security against the rights of all South Africans to freedom of speech and access to information.
“If it is to replace the existing unconstitutional classification regime as an instrument worthy of our democracy, the bill must undergo further important changes.
“A law worthy of our democracy cannot criminalise the publication of information that reveals corruption, human rights abuses, or the abuse of state resources for political ends.
“It must ensure the grounds of classification are sufficiently narrow to prevent officials from using it to draw a veil of secrecy across the workings of government.”
Meanwhile, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) said the postponement of the debate on the bill showed that “the voice of reason has prevailed” among MPs.
Numsa spokesman Castro Ngobese said had the bill been passed as it was, “we would have had a choir of yes-men and yes-women”.
“The withdrawal is a victory for democracy and the media.
“We can’t allow the government to hide information from the people it represents.”
The DA also welcomed the delay, saying the bill was “a clear and present danger” to the freedom of the press and other media.
The party proposed that the bill be amended to include a public interest defence that protected journalists and whistle-blowers who disclosed “classified” information if it was in the public interest.
“We therefore hope that the delay will provide a window of opportunity for the ruling party to reconsider its position on the bill,” said DA MP David Maynier, who sat on the ad hoc committee that processed the bill.
Maynier described the delay as a victory for democracy
“The public outcry against the bill indicates a groundswell of opposition to this threat against the freedoms enshrined in our constitution.
“We hope that the announcement to undertake further consultation on the proposed bill is not mere lip service. Valid concerns have been raised by members of opposition parties, civil society, and from within the tripartite alliance.
The ACDP’s Steve Swart, who also sat on the committee, called on the ANC to refer the bill to the committee with instructions that it insert a public interest defence.
“We have argued continuously for the inclusion of such a defence to protect journalists and members of the public who disclose classified information in the public interest, such as to expose fraud and corruption.
“We trust that the ANC will reconsider our arguments for a public interest defence, particularly given the high levels of fraud and corruption in society.”
The IFP’s Mario Oriani-Ambrosini said it was his party’s recent tabling of 123 amendments to the bill which required that it be referred back to the committee. - Political Bureau