The Safety and Security Ministry dismissed claims on Monday that a draft Bill governing news coverage of important national buildings and institutions was constitutionally incompatible.
Ministry spokesperson Trevor Bloem said state law advisers had ensured the Bill conformed to all constitutional principles.
In a press statement issued on Monday, the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) said the draft Key Points and Strategic Installations Bill of 2007, introduced to Parliament by the Safety and Security Ministry, violated constitutional rights to freedom of expression.
The forum said the 2007 draft law contained ”unacceptable provisions” that merely updated ”draconian” apartheid-era laws designed to prevent the gathering of news about strategic buildings and installations.
”The media restrictions are onerous. They state that it is an offence for any person ‘to furnish in any manner whatsoever any information relating to the security measures at a National Key Point or in respect of any incident that occurred there’ without authority,” said Sanef.
”Sanef declares that this law has no place in the new democratic South Africa because it restricts the free flow of information, thus preventing the public from being informed and, as such, is a contravention of the media freedom and freedom of expression clause in the Constitution.”
However, Bloem said South African measures to protect itself from crime and international terrorism were in fact completely standard, if not mild, compared with other international measures.
”We have to contend with crime and international terrorism,” said Bloem.
The ministry would be taking full consideration of all public input, including Sanef’s.
”This is an open, open process. We are just at the beginning,” said Bloem.
Sanef’s claim was incorrect that the public would not be informed about which buildings and institutions were designated as key security points.
Information about designated security key points would be published in the Government Gazette, Bloem said. — Sapa