ActionSA calls on GNU partners to take a stand on Secrecy Bill

19 September 2024

ActionSA calls on coalition partners in the ‘GNU’/Grand Coalition to clearly express their stance on the highly controversial Protection of State Information Bill (“Secrecy Bill”), which looks set to be revived by the 7th Administration.

Worryingly, the Secretary of the National Assembly, Masibulele Xaso, recently confirmed to the media that the bill will make its way back to Parliament.

Originally introduced over 13 years ago, the bill aims to “defend” state information and establish a Classification Review Panel that will make final decisions on the public release of certain information.

The contentious bill was passed by Parliament after several amendments in 2013, but then-President Jacob Zuma refused to sign it into law. Most recently, in 2020, President Ramaphosa requested that the bill be sent back to Parliament, given the ongoing controversy surrounding it.

ActionSA stands vehemently opposed to the bill in its current form, as we believe it has the potential to be misused as an instrument of abuse by public officeholders.

Its clauses include excessively harsh penalties for disclosing classified information that South Africans may have a right to know about, including potential malfeasance by public representatives.

Whistleblowers, who protect our public institutions, should have barriers to their work removed and this legislation, if entrusted to the wrong hands, promises to do the opposite.

The apparent acquiescence of “GNU” coalition partners in response to ANC legislation has been disheartening, with President Ramaphosa’s recent signing of the BELA Bill into law confirming where the power in this coalition lies, with some parties’ moderating their rhetoric against the NHI highlights their growing conformity.

The question remains: Will Parliament continue to serve merely as a rubber stamp for ill-conceived ANC legislative proposals that fail to advance the interests of South Africans, or will partners in the GNU take a stand?

ActionSA can categorically confirm that our Parliamentary caucus will not support the Secrecy Bill in its current form or any other iteration that covers up any malfeasance. We challenge all the members in the ‘GNU’/Grand coalition to do the same.

Issued by Athol Trollip, Parliamentary Leader, ActionSA, 20 September 2024