ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe on Monday hinted there may be a delay in the passing into law of the controversial Protection of Information Bill.
Mantashe was hosting a press briefing ahead of an ANC parliamentary caucus debate on the matter, following the party’s recent national executive meeting held over the weekend in Tshwane.
“The ANC wants to bring all its members up to speed with what the Bill means and how it will operate. It is not on ice but it’s not going to be pushed through the National Assembly,” Mantashe told reporters.
Mantashe’s comments follow on the back of reports in the Cape Times that the ANC is deeply divided over the implementation of the hotly-debated Bill.
The Bill is designed to replace apartheid-era legislation used to govern the flow and status of state documents, but has been labelled by critics as an attempt to introduce laws that will cover up corruption and maladministration.
The Bill stipulates the handing down of mandatory jail terms for disclosing or harbouring classified information and documents, offering no public interest defence to protect whistle-blowers.
Not targetting journalists
Mantashe reiterated the ANC’s stance that the Bill would not be used to target journalists or cover up corruption.
“It is cynical to think that we want journalists in jail. There are a lot of things in that Bill and it is a security Bill and not a media Bill,” Mantashe said.
Mantashe however said that journalists are subject to the same rules and laws as any other citizen of South Africa.
“Jounalists must be held to account if they are implicated in information peddling. They are first and foremost citizens of the republic and then journalists,” Mantashe said.
Mantashe would not elaborate on the reasons for a possible delay.
“Journalists would be best served to wait for the media briefing in Parliament later this afternoon [Monday] for the details,” he said.
But Mantashe was candid about the his stance on the viability in implementing the Bill.
“The Bill in its current form is acceptable to everyone excepting the lack of a public interest clause. The current version addresses all matters raised in public hearings on the Bill and there is nothing unconstitutional [about it]. Once it goes through Parliament it can be tested at the Constitutional Court,” he said.
The ANC meeting is due to get underway at 2pm this afternoon.
The Right2Know campaign spokesperson Dale McKinley told the Mail & Guardian: “We understand this latest decision as a delay but the ANC has said categorically they will not change the Bill and they have no intention of withdrawing the Bill.
“The delay is simply a time for them to talk with the parliamentary caucus and their membership, which indicates that the Bill will go ahead, so our opposition remains.
“The reason why we are having vigils and campaigns against the Bill is because of its content.
The content is not changing so our candlelight vigil will not change.”
The passing of the Protection of State Information Bill came as no surprise, raising the threat to media freedom. View our special report.
