SANEF welcomes withdrawal of controversial bill

According to SANEF, the Ad-Hoc Committee stated that it had reached an impasse on the proposed treatment of private intelligence companies in the Protection of Information Bill and decided that too much work needed to be done on the bill and the time left in the parliamentary term was insufficient to enable this to be achieved. Consequently, it has withdrawn the bill but plans to introduce it in the new parliament next year.

SANEF's objections to the bill have been that the provisions are too broad, relate the protection of information to the national interest rather than national security interests and encompass “practically every conceivable activity or conduct under the broad mantle of protecting the national interest”. It believes that it pays scant attention to the constitutional ethos that South Africa should strive to be an open, transparent and accountable society and that classification of documents as secret should be described in the narrowest of terms.

SANEF presented the view that the legislation should be fashioned to pursue the principles of the Promotion of Access to Information Act by protecting the right to the widest possible access to information and where there is a requirement for preventing disclosure of information this should be on the narrowest of grounds, clearly defined with set limitations on the extent of secrecy. The bill should also place high value on the disclosure of information in the public interest as distinct from the far more limited concept of the national interest.

Before the bill is presented again to Parliament, SANEF would like to see extensive consultation with the media to ensure that the broad principles outlined above are adhered to. SANEF also believes there was insufficient consultation with interests likely to be affected by the bill before it was presented to Parliament.

For more:

• Business Day: Editors welcome shelving of info bill
  
• IOL: Editors hail withdrawal of bill