Secrecy Bill Ad Hoc Committee should be postponed until President Zuma provides clarity
I will today write to The Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, to request that the commencement of the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Protection of State Information Bill (Secrecy Bill) be postponed until such stage as President Zuma provides clarity as to the exact scope of his referral of the Bill back to Parliament.
In a circular distributed this morning, Parliament indicated that the Ad Hoc Committee is scheduled to meet for the first time on Wednesday, 9 October 2013. From the draft programme, also circulated this morning, it is clear that the plan is to wrap up all deliberations within two days, with the adoption of the report on Thursday 10 October 2013. This means that the Committee is assuming that the reservations raised by the President relate solely to Sections 42 and 45.
I submitted a letter to the President on 17 September 2013 requesting clarity on the scope of the referral. I have yet to receive a response to this correspondence, and I will again write to the President to follow up on this letter and request that the matter be resolved.
It would undermine this critical process to proceed with this meeting on the assumption that the referral is confined to Sections 42 and 45 given how vague the President's letter to Parliament is in this regard. The terms of the referral need to be properly clarified before the Committee can begin its work.
The Secrecy Bill remains a highly controversial and contentious piece of legislation. It simply cannot be rushed through Parliament. It would be highly embarrassing for the institution and for all MPs should it be found again to be unconstitutional.
I trust that The Speaker will share this concern for Parliament's reputation with the same seriousness as I do and postpone the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee until such stage as the President has provided clarity.
Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, DA Parliamentary Leader, October 4 2013
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
