Secrecy bill not explained properly

Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele claimed in Parliament that the new law is necessary to protect the country from foreign agents, but he didn't provide any specific examples of which agents or from what country - or countries. (Image: GCIS)

On Tuesday, the National Council of Provinces ad-hoc committee into the so-called "secrecy bill" began in the Cape Town township of Gugulethu and at Thembalethu, which is near the Western Cape town of George.

"The MPs arrived with a handful of copies with them and then expected ordinary people to tell them what was wrong with the bill without explaining what this complex piece of legislation was about," Van Vuuren said on the e.tv News Channel.

He said that it was a good thing that the committee had gone to working-class areas to hear people's views and while awareness of the proposed law was higher than other bills, it showed there was a general lack of communication between people and their elected representatives.

"Explanations of the bill were simplistic with representatives of the Ministry of State Security saying the purpose of the bill was to safeguard people's marriage and birth information," he said.

The POIB allows for the classification of all government information and proposes jail time of between five and 25 years for people who have come into possession of it, whether or not such information could be in the public interest.

Foreign agents? What foreign agents?

Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele, whose department has sponsored the bill, claimed in Parliament that it was necessary to protect the country from foreign agents, although he has given no specific examples of this.

Cwele's ex-wife is currently facing a jail sentence after being found guilty last year of drug smuggling.

Democratic Alliance NCoP member on the ad-hoc committee Alf Lees said that Tuesday's hearings were a wake-up call for the ruling African National Congress.

"Successive speakers voiced their opposition to the proposed legislation, followed by spirited applause at the hearing I attended in the crowded hall of the Gugulethu Sports Complex. With some speakers calling for the withdrawal of the bill and even a general referendum, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the ANC simply ignored or underestimated the public outcry over the legislation," he said.

Lees said community members questioned government's intentions with the bill, referring to increasing exposure of corruption by the media and civil society.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge