Info bill returns to Assembly
2013-02-26 20:39
Cape Town - The protection of state information bill will
again come before the National Assembly after the House agreed on Tuesday to
re-establish the ad hoc committee that dealt with the controversial legislation
over the past few years.
The committee was dissolved after it completed its work
on the bill on 8 November 2011.
The bill then went to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)
for consideration.
The NCOP made a number of changes to the bill originally
passed by the Assembly before approving it on 29 November last year.
Thus, the bill and changes made by the NCOP now have to
be approved by the Assembly.
ANC Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga proposed a motion on
Tuesday to re-establish the ad hoc committee on the bill with the same
composition and powers as its predecessor.
A deadline of 20 June this year was set for the committee
to report to the Assembly.
The NCOP changes to the bill include the re-insertion of
a clause offering protection against prosecution for those who reveal
classified information to expose a crime.
A clause that would have made the new legislation trump
the Promotion of Access to Information Act was also scrapped, and the public protector
and other chapter nine institutions were given the right to be in possession of
classified information.
- SAPA
