The National Assembly approved the controversial Protection of State Information Bill this afternoon in the face of stern protests from both inside and outside Parliament.
Opposition parties put up a fight until the last minute; first trying to see the Bill, which seeks to regulate the classification of state secrets removed from Parliament’s programme, then refusing to accept a report of the ad hoc committee which processed the proposed law and ultimately going down to a 229-107 vote to pass the Bill. Two MPs abstained from voting.
The Bill will now go to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.
On a day dubbed Black Tuesday by those opposed to the Bill where the public and opposition parties were encouraged to wear black in symbolic protest against the Bill, the majority of ANC MPs chose rather colourful attires following the advice of the office of ANC chief whip, Mathole Motshekga “to avoid black”.
The Mail & Guardian saw an SMS sent out to ANC MPs on Monday night which read: “Dear Members, All ANC MPs are encouraged to avoid wearing black tomorrow as planned by the opposition. Any brighter colour is encouraged.”
While it’s not clear how many ANC MPs attended the session, 229 MPs voted to pass the Bill in the National Assembly with 107 voting against it and two abstaining. The ANC boasts 264 of the 400 MPs in the National Assembly.
As expected, the debate which wrapped up an 18 month-long process in the National Assembly, was one of the most heated in recent years.
It started when the DA’s new chief whip, Watty Watson lit up the normally dull motions session, when he proposed that in the absence of a public interest defence clause, the passing of the Bill be postponed until concerns raised around it are addressed. “The Bill will be subject to challenges on constitutional grounds,” Watson warned.
He wanted the House to “further recognise the negative impact of the proposed legislation”, and to uphold the importance of section 16 of the Constitution which entrenches the freedom of expression.
‘Sensitiveness’
Opposition parties one after another jumped in, all supporting the postponement or removal of the Bill from the order paper.
The IFP’s Koos van der Merwe added: “As far as we are concerned, there’s public outcry against this Bill and if the ANC has any sensitiveness for the Constitution and for democracy, it should listen to the churches and the media.”
With the ANC objecting to the proposal, the matter was put to a vote.
In her declaration, Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko re-stated that her party will continue fighting the Bill, starting with petitioning President Jacob Zuma from signing it to approaching the Constitutional Court to have the Act declared unconstitutional.
“If passed, this Bill will unstitch the very fabric of our Constitution. It will criminalise the freedoms that so many of our people fought for. What will you, the members on that side of the House [ANC], tell your grandchildren one day?
“I know you will tell them that you fought for freedom. But will you also tell them you helped to destroy it? Because they will pay the price for your actions today. Let this weigh heavy on your conscience as you cast your vote,” said Mazibuko.
Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota warned that the country can’t have a law that puts someone who publishes information in the public’s interest in the same position as someone who might have that information for opposite objections.
Lekota said the issue of inserting a public interest defence clause in the Bill could have been resolved and can still be resolved.
“The issue is about an individual who finds state information, some of which is in the interest of the South African society to be made known. It’s whether this Parliament will provide protection for such an individual to make that information known, knowing that if it is proven that it is in the interest of the public, they will not suffer consequences of punishment.”
The passing of the Protection of State Information Bill came as no surprise, raising the threat to media freedom. View our special report.
