Letter from R2K to Speaker of Parliament

The following letter was sent by the Right2Know campaign on 29 September to Hon. Max Sisulu, MP, Speaker of the National Assembly.

Sir,

We refer to the above matter and the statement issued by The Chief Whip of the majority party on Tuesday 27 September 2011, announcing the setting up of an internal unit of the ANC caucus to take submissions in relation to the Protection of State Information Bill.

This Bill, if passed in its current form, will have a far-reaching impact on ordinary citizens and, as such, we would welcome a participation process which is as inclusive as possible. However, we have great concerns about the status of this internal unit as well as its connection, if any, to the formal Parliamentary process relating to the Bill.

It would appear as if the Bill is currently in procedural limbo, given that it was not tabled at the National Assembly last week as planned. In light of the ANC Chief Whip’s press statement on Tuesday we call on Parliament to provide clarity on the following matters:

• Will the Bill be referred to an appropriate portfolio committee? If so, when will that be done?
• Alternatively, will the Ad Hoc committee on the Protection of State Information Bill be revived?
• How will submissions be filtered from the ANC’s internal unit through to the formal Parliamentary process? What mechanisms exist for this to be done?
• Who will consider the submissions received in the absence of a committee dealing with the Bill at present?
• How will MPs in other parties be included in this process, if at all?
  
  

We look forward to clarity on the above matters of process as a matter of urgency. In the Doctors for Life and Matatiele cases, the Constitutional Court was very clear about the requirements for proper public consultation and process in relation to law-making. We are therefore of the view that while the ANC, as well as any other political party, has the right to solicit opinion, it should not do so to the exclusion or substitution of a proper Parliamentary process. We would submit that the Bill needs to be referred to a properly constituted Parliamentary Portfolio or ad hoc committee whose task it would then be to garner further public opinion on behalf of Parliament as a democratic institution.

We look forward to your urgent response.

Ends.