Extract from a speech delivered by DA Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, in the National Assembly, November 22 2011:
Declaration on the Protection of Information Bill
If passed, this Bill will unstitch the very fabric of our Constitution. It will criminalise the freedoms that so many of our people fought for. What will you, the members on that side of the House, tell your grandchildren one day?
I know you will tell them that you fought for freedom. But will you also tell them you helped to destroy it? Because they will pay the price for your actions today. Let this weigh heavy on your conscience as you cast your vote.
Speaker, whatever happens in this House, we will not give up the fight. We have fought this Bill from the very first day it was tabled. And we will continue to do whatever it takes to defeat those who want to silence our people.
First, we will take the fight to the National Council of Provinces, where we will propose amendments, including a clause to protect those who disclose state information in the public interest.