South Africa at boiling point as ‘Secrecy Bill’ fever mounts

This article was published online by the BusinessDay

Post-apartheid South Africa has entered one of the most boiling periods of its history, as journalists, businesses, politicians, non-governmental organisations, trade unionists, academics and the ordinary citizens have formed a ‘one love, one heart’ bloc to stop the Protection of Information Bill – aka Secrecy Bill – from being enacted in its current form.

But, will the ruling ANC hear the cry of its people?

Critics firmly believe the Secrecy Bill will compromise transparency and service delivery, institutionalise state corruption, hamper foreign investment and access to information, and put a dent on free reporting and investigative journalism.

In brief, there is a general impression that the current form of this proposed legislation – ambiguous, unconstitutional and abusive – will hurt democracy, a sacrosanct right gained at the barrel of violence, division, hate, blood, tears and sweat.
As the ANC-led ad-hoc parliamentary committee is busy cooking its last storm to have the bill enacted, activists are simultaneously working hard to launch a major counter-offensive to keep the ‘war’ going – a ‘war’ they believe is justified, given the state’s threat to unnecessarily classify information and curtail fundamental freedoms.

Apart from the Right2Know (R2K) petition, an international organisation called Avaaz is urging the public to sign an online petition and forward it to the next person via email or social media, as it aims to reach 50, 000 signatures that will be delivered to Parliament, the executive and key international allies.

In the meantime, the Southern African Freelancers’ Association (SAFREA) in the Western Cape has this week added its voice to protest against the proposed Secrecy Bill, saying it was greatly concerned about the state’s renewed intentions to forge ahead with it, despite widespread opposition by various professional and civil society groupings in SA and abroad.

“The concerns of our members are shared by many right-thinking South Africans who can see through government’s intentions to prevent the media, whistleblowers and ordinary members of society from gaining access to information of public interest,” SAFREA regional spokesperson, Solly Moeng, said.

Moeng pointed out that this information might be in danger of being classified by unscrupulous officials in order to shield possible abuse of resources and positions from public scrutiny.
As opposition to the proposed bill gains momentum, the R2K Campaign said the next couple of weeks would be crucial as the ad-hoc committee dealing with the bill had set an August 2011 deadline to finalise it.

Meanwhile, the NEPAD Business Foundation invited the public to attend a heated debate on the proposed bill and the way it will affect the country’s private sector, if it is indeed enacted in its current form.