President Jacob Zuma welcomes media letters
President Jacob Zuma has welcomed the letters he has received from various media groupings locally and internationally, raising their concerns about the Protection of Information Bill, as well as the ruling party's Media Appeals Tribunal.
Among the correspondence received, are letters from media groupings, non-governmental organisations, concerned groupings of society, professional bodies, individuals and organisations, such as the Writers Against the Protection of Information Bill, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, Section 27, the Auckland Park Declaration, the Right to Know Campaign, South African Journalism Schools, World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Agence France Presse, Bloomberg, the Associated Press, Reuters and others.
President Zuma wishes to assure the media groupings that government remains fully committed to media freedom as enshrined in the Constitution. He welcomes the inputs made to the debate in the public arena and also in Parliament at the public hearings, which indicates the vibrancy of South African society.
"We respect the Constitution of our country; we fought hard for it to be as progressive and as exemplary as it is. This Bill will not undermine the spirit of the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, and we wish to assure the media houses in that regard', said President Zuma.
The aim of the Protection of Information Bill is to improve the security of the state with regards to the work of counter-espionage and information peddling, among other things.