Stop South Africa’s Secrecy Bill! May 30, 2011

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RIGHT2KNOW (R2K)

Thousands of people across South Africa have united against the proposed Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill) being discussed in Parliament, which threatens to drag South Africa back to apartheid-era secrecy and undermine community struggles for access to information.Despite months of public outcry from a wide spectrum of civil society organisations, political parties and ordinary citizens, MPs of the ruling party seem determined to finalise the Bill by 24 June with many of its draconian provisions intact!

 

The Right2Know Campaign calls on all those who object to the passing of the Secrecy Bill in its current form to make their collective and individual voices heard now by signing this petition!

Let the truth be told

Stop South Africa’s Secrecy Bill!

A responsive and accountable democracy that can meet the basic needs of our people is built upon transparency and the free flow of information. The gains of South Africans’ struggle for freedom are threatened by the Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill) currently before Parliament. We accept the need to replace apartheid-era secrecy legislation. However, this Bill extends the veil of secrecy in a manner reminiscent of that same apartheid past. This Bill fundamentally undermines the struggle for whistleblower protection and access to information. It is one of a number of proposed measures which could have the combined effect of fundamentally undermining the right to access information and the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution.

 

The Bill will create a society of secrets

• Any state agency, government department, even a parastatal and your local municipality, would be able to classify public information as secret. Over 1000 institutions would be granted this power.
• The definitions of ‘national security’ remain vague and open to abuse. Even ordinary information relating to service delivery can become secret. Officials do not need to provide reasons for making information secret
• Anyone involved in the ‘unauthorized’ disclosure of classified information can be prosecuted; not just the state official who leaks information.
• The disclosure even of some information which is not formally classified can land citizens in jail. This will lead to self-censorship and have a chilling effect on free speech.
• Whistleblowers and journalists could face harsh prison sentences for releasing classified information in the public interest; they would spend more time in prison than officials who deliberately conceal public information that should be disclosed. Even the leaking of secret information in the public interest is criminalised.
• A complete veil is drawn over the workings of the intelligence services. It will prevent public scrutiny of our spies should they abuse their power or breach human rights.

 

Our demands:

The Constitution demands accountable, open and responsive government, realised among other things through freedom of expression and access to information. Our elected representatives are bound by these Constitutional values and any legislation they pass must comply. Furthermore, we recognise that the Protection of Information Bill is a symptom and symbol of an existing climate of secrecy facing South African communities today: ordinary South Africans struggle to access information that is relevant to their livelihoods. We demand that the Protection of Information Bill – the Secrecy Bill – must reflect the following:

 

1. The Bill should apply only to core state bodies in the security sector such as the police, defence and intelligence agencies.

1. Even then, the Bill’s powers must be limited to strictly-defined national security matters and no more. Officials must give reasons for making information secret.

1. Do not exempt the intelligence agencies from public scrutiny.

1. Do not apply penalties for unauthorised disclosure to society at large, only those responsible for keeping secrets.

1. Do not criminalise whistleblowers and journalists: the Bill must protect those who release classified information if that information is in the public interest.

1. An independent body appointed by Parliament, and not the Minister of State Security, should be able to review decisions about what may be made secret.

 

Any law that doesn’t meet these demands is unconstitutional and must be scrapped!

 To sign this petition, visit www.r2k.org.za or fill in your details below:

 

First Name	Surname	Email address	Phone	Signature

Please return to Tinashe Njanji by 10 June 2011: admin@r2k.org.za or 0214617211

Right2Know calls for new period of action on Secrecy Bill May 26, 2011

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Right2Know calls for new period of action on Secrecy Bill
26 May 2011
The decision by ANC MPs on Parliament’s ad-hoc committee to vote on clauses of the Secrecy Bill on Tuesday confirms that the ruling party is willing to use its majority on the committee to steamroll a range of unresolved problems with the Bill (see outstanding demands below). Despite months of public outcry from a wide spectrum of civil society organisations, political parties and ordinary citizens and stalled debate in the committee room, MPs have failed to reduce in any meaningful way the Secrecy Bill’s draconian provisions. Indeed, ANC MPs seem determined to finalise the Bill by June 24 using any means necessary, including ramming it through via clause-by-clause voting.

What yesterday’s events confirm is that the ANC position on the Secrecy Bill has hardened. As a result, its MPs have reneged on a number of concessions made in recent months to reduce the Bill’s powers.

On Tuesday the chair of the committee, Cecil Burgess, allowed state law advisors to table a version of the Bill which does not include the concessions made in a previous draft tabled by the ANC. This version of the Bill will introduce wide powers for the state to classify information at every level, and will have no independent oversight, or proper whistleblower protection. In doing so, Burgess and other ANC MPs on the committee have negated a number of gains made in narrowing the Bill’s discretions, reversing what progress had been made in aligning the Bill with constitutional provisions around the rights of freedom of expression and access to information.

This is a struggle that is bigger than political affiliation. The Secrecy Bill will affect us all!

The Right2Know Campaign is calling for a new period of action to stop the Secrecy Bill.  We call on all those who are seriously concerned by this turn of events to make their collective and individual voices heard now. In the coming days, as MPs meet in Parliament to finalise the Secrecy Bill, R2K working groups will join together to develop plans to ratchet up the pressure to halt this regressive piece of legislation that threatens to take our country back to the dark days of secrecy. The ANC must abandon its efforts to pass the Bill in its current form and withdraw the Bill to be redrafted from scratch, with proper public consultation. We will spread the message across the country and the globe:  Stop the Secrecy Bill! Let the truth be told!

For comment please contact:

Dale McKinley
R2K Gauteng spokesperson
072 429 4086 and dtmckinley@gmail.com

Judith February
R2K Western Cape spokesperson
083 453 9817 and jfebruary@idasa.org.za

Quinton Kippen
R2K KwaZulu Natal spokesperson
083 871 7549 and quinton@ddpdurban.org.za

Murray Hunter
R2K National coordinator
072 672 5468 and murray@r2k.org.za
R2K demands:
When the Right2Know launched on 31 August 2011, we tabled the ‘7 Point Freedom Test’, a list of demands that must be met by any law governing state secrecy. So far only one has been addressed:

1.      Limit secrecy to core state bodies in the security sector such as the police, defence and intelligence agencies.

2.      Limit secrecy to strictly-defined national security matters and no more. Officials must give reasons for making information secret.

3.      Exclude commercial information from this Bill.

4.      Do not exempt the intelligence agencies from public scrutiny.

5.      Do not apply penalties for unauthorised disclosure to society at large, only those responsible for keeping secrets.

6.      An independent body appointed by Parliament, and not the Minister of State Security, should be the arbiter of decisions about what may be made secret.

7.      Do not criminalise the legitimate disclosure of secrets in the public interest.

Any law that doesn’t meet these demands is unconstitutional and must be scrapped!

Government works for us and we should never let it forget that November 18, 2010

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Government works for us and we should never let it forget that

By Candice Holdsworth

As an avid politico I have in recent months been completely captivated by the run-up to the US mid-term elections. Political campaigning in the US is somewhat of a media spectacle, of which the candidates are acutely aware, and as such, usually perform accordingly. It’s often highly entertaining with classic soundbites such as “How’s that hopey changey thing workin’ out for ya?” from the likes of Sarah Palin coupled with the rise of a genuinely novel political movement like the Tea Party. Who could resist? Similarly in SA we are not without our own political intrigue. Not too long ago, although, it is now old news, the ANC party conference in a manner reminiscent of Elizabethan-era factionalism was dominated by the feuding between the ANC leadership and its very own youth league. Zuma vs Malema. Gripping stuff.

We may be at risk, however, of getting lost in the soap opera quality of it all and forget that these same people work for us. Although, the Tea Party is often associated with the highly quotable, controversial personalities of Christine “I’m not a witch” O’Donnell and Sarah “Drill Baby Drill” Palin, the message behind the movement is much more serious and lofty in aim. Quite simple really: less spending, more representation. It is an attempt to push back against politicians behaving like landed aristocracy and treating public office as if it were some kind of entitlement. Sound familiar?

Of course many express reservations about the Tea Party, and perhaps justifiably feel it has been hijacked by raving lunatics and vested interest — an issue I could easily discuss at length. However, my focus for the time being is not on the movement as a whole but the ideal behind it: that governments must always remain accountable to the people they are elected to serve. In the US this is achieved by creating a grassroots political movement. In South Africa this is achieved most effectively by an ever-vigilant media comprised of ordinary tax-paying individuals, like you and I, without whom government could not possibly exist. The world over decries the death of investigative journalism. Not in South Africa where the media takes an active role in chipping away that little bit harder, and exposing the rot within. Much to the chagrin of those they expose.

In an age of unprecedented access to information, the proposed Media Tribunal Bill and the Protection of Information Bill will serve to cast South Africans back to another age. As with those who fell out of favour with Henry Tudor or Louis XIV, we will, like those wretched souls, be interminably confined to a solitary tower of ignorance inside of which, the only conversation we’ll be having will be with our not so benevolent captors, our only source of information, as we become increasingly mentally enslaved to the whims of a state acting purely in its own interest.

Do not internalise the lie that the media behave irresponsibly and that this legislation is for our benefit. It is not. Government works for us, and we should never let it forget that. More importantly we should never forget that.

Candice Holdsworth is a freelance writer who recently completed an MSc in political theory at the London School of Economics.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 at 2:43 pm and is filed underPerspective, News & Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “Government works for us and we should never let it forget that”

You are so wrong! The government works for the interests of the ANC, not for ours. We only blindly vote to keep them in power and luxury.
It is nothing but wishful thinking, misplaced idealism and naivete that says that we taxpayers, who hold up the whole edifice of society count at all. We are just voting fodder and someone to blame for the abysmal failures caused everyday by our rulers.

(Report abuse)

ian shaw on November 17th, 2010 at 4:42 pm

Whoop-di-da Candice! – and your lofty political ideals are relevant here in Africa?!Here (in fact) we are slaves working FOR the government. The only problem is – the slaves don’t realize it. You,Candice, only serve to perpetuate their control.

(Report abuse)

Waldo Pepper on November 17th, 2010 at 6:49 pm

Bravo Candice!!!

(Report abuse)

Lenny Appadoo on November 17th, 2010 at 8:05 pm

Dissatisfaction with big government seems to be a growing worldwide trend. More and more people are attaching themselves to the cause of liberty.

(Report abuse)

Ernst Malley on November 17th, 2010 at 9:36 pm

While in one sense I like having something to disagree with, as with your first blog, it can also lead to an open-ended argument. Not here. It’s great to see your views expressed unashamedly, unequivocally, and with such fire and elegance.

-D

(Report abuse)

Dave Dexter on November 17th, 2010 at 10:59 pm

Give ‘em hell Candice! Let’s hope South Africans get wise to what the government is trying to do before it’s too late.

(Report abuse)

Eoghan on November 18th, 2010 at 1:14 am

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/readerblog/2010/11/17/are-we-represented-or-are-we-ruled/

 

Into the Sunshine September 21, 2010

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I trust you will give credit where it is due and support this production that is a home-grown and home-brewed especially if you attended Fairvale Secondary. As long as I can remember Mr. Stephanus our English teacher.