Those opposed to the Bill say it threatens some fundamental values enshrined in the Constitution. (SABC)
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The National Council of Provinces' (NCOP) public hearings into the draft Protection of State Information Bill moves to Mpumalanga today. Two hearings are to take place in Bushbuckridge and Secunda.
So far hearings have taken place in the Western and Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and North West. In all of them residents raised service delivery problems. Some complained that they had not been given enough information about the Bill.
Those opposed to the Bill say it threatens some fundamental values enshrined in the Constitution. Government says the Bill will provide for a thorough and methodological approach to decisions of which state information will be protected. It will also criminalise espionage and activities seen as hostile to the country.
SAYC in the Western Cape said it was extremely disappointed by the "elitist and aloof" approach adopted by the ad hoc National Council of Provinces committee.
Last week, the IFP called for the urgent and immediate suspension of the public hearings after it was alleged that the public hearings are being used to mobilise ANC supporters and silence the opposition.
In a statement, the IFP said: "In Sharpeville, the ANC whip in the NCOP Ms Nosipho Ntwanambi used her chairmanship to silence, ridicule and insult opposing voices, while in Vryheid the event was turned into an ANC rally where the ANC mayor, Mrs P N Khaba was able to address her supporters."
Meanwhile, the SA Youth Council (SAYC) in the Western Cape said it was extremely disappointed by the "elitist and aloof" approach adopted by the ad-hoc National Council of Provinces committee that held the hearings in the province. Public hearings on the draft Protection of State Information Bill in Gugulethu, Cape Town, were a "disastrous and futile" exercise, the Western Cape youth organisation said.
"In organising the hearings they deliberately went to areas where people were relatively not well-equipped and/or prepared to engage on the Bill," the council's Western Cape chairman Thembinkosi Josopu, said. "As many people were not properly informed... why the committee was there... some raised service delivery issues instead of commenting on the Bill." – Additional reporting by Sapa
