I have seen quite a number of responses regarding Black Tuesday and I feel the need to understand why this is. Firstly I for one do not know what it stands for and yet i think it is days like this one that we need in this new democracy.
I have been reading on the Protection of information Bill that is proposed by Government and I really think it should not be passed. This why - Firstly it will automatically put people who are trying to speak out about corruption, Honest people in jail. Secondly it makes me want to ask "what the hell is the govenment trying to hide?"
Ok ,ok I might not be a journo or something but I am a citizen of this country and I want to know what the government is doing behind my back with my tax money. On top of my questions is the fact that the Scopions were disdanded so that this secrecy bill can be enacted?
I see a trend here:
Fisrt - They disband the Scopions ( Highly effective Crime fighting tool) For what?
Secondly - Govenment officials and ANC high and mighty people get involved in unorthodox situations
Thirdly - The high and mighty people now want to criminalise people who are going to uncover thier soiled tracks.
Fourthly - Reopen the Arms deal enquiry (To shut us up because everything has been swept under the capert already (who knows?))
and the Final step to the What you call it - Enact the protection of information bill
Protection of information - Protection from who and for what?
What happened to Free media? After all isn't this the very thing our fathers (the people who now gorven us) fought for?
Mandeep Tiwana, Policy Manager, CIVICUS in his article says:
I have been reading on the Protection of information Bill that is proposed by Government and I really think it should not be passed. This why - Firstly it will automatically put people who are trying to speak out about corruption, Honest people in jail. Secondly it makes me want to ask "what the hell is the govenment trying to hide?"
Ok ,ok I might not be a journo or something but I am a citizen of this country and I want to know what the government is doing behind my back with my tax money. On top of my questions is the fact that the Scopions were disdanded so that this secrecy bill can be enacted?
I see a trend here:
Fisrt - They disband the Scopions ( Highly effective Crime fighting tool) For what?
Secondly - Govenment officials and ANC high and mighty people get involved in unorthodox situations
Thirdly - The high and mighty people now want to criminalise people who are going to uncover thier soiled tracks.
Fourthly - Reopen the Arms deal enquiry (To shut us up because everything has been swept under the capert already (who knows?))
and the Final step to the What you call it - Enact the protection of information bill
Protection of information - Protection from who and for what?
What happened to Free media? After all isn't this the very thing our fathers (the people who now gorven us) fought for?
Mandeep Tiwana, Policy Manager, CIVICUS in his article says:
"The bill contains draconian punishments ranging up to 25 years imprisonment for a host of offences, including obtaining, possessing, intercepting and disclosing classified information. It empowers the State Security Minister to categorise as classified a vast array of information - not only about government departments but also about independent commissions, municipal and local councils as well as community development forums
Furthermore, information is also prevented from reaching the pubic sphere through empowering departmental heads to devise internal policies, directives and categories to classify and declassify information. Notably, disclosure of information is barred in the interests of “national security,” defined through a long-winded omnibus provision, a potentially formidable barrier against the release of information exposing official corruption and mismanagement" (http://www.civicus.org/ accessed on the 22 November 2011)
News on this issue:
- Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said the bill is flawed and insulting to South Africans, while former cabinet minister Jay Naidoo said he is deeply disturbed by the battering ram approach to the proposed legislation.
Tutu said people in this country should not be asked to stomach legislation that could be used to outlaw whistleblowing and investigative journalism. Eye witness news
Tutu said people in this country should not be asked to stomach legislation that could be used to outlaw whistleblowing and investigative journalism. Eye witness news
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The Protection of State Information Bill (POIB) has huge constitutional implications and should not be passed in its current form, the Right2Know Campaign said on Tuesday. IOL
Is this what the bill means? Does it mean that someone sitting on a chair at some govenment office will decide what I will read?
I have not read the whole proposed bill but I can tell you this - I think it is a JOKE and BIG ONE.
President Zuma et al. Please do something about this DO NOT PASS THE BILL.
I have the copy of the Bill and I will be reading it in depth and come back and touch base on this subject as we know that it might ed up in the highest caught in the land. Let's see
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