STATE Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele took a veiled swipe at parliament yesterday for allowing a typographically and grammatically flawed piece of legislation to slip through the cracks.
Presenting the Protection of State Information Bill, dubbed by opposition parties and civil rights groups as the “secrecy bill”, Cwele said support to legislators needed to be improved.
“What is clear is that parliament must seriously increase its capacity to avoid technical errors in legislation as parliament is now, unlike during the apartheid era, dealing with large volumes of legislation.
“We must increase the capacity of parliament’s legal and drafting and committee sessions in order to provide the appropriate support to parliament in its committees when making amendments,” Cwele said.
The bill was referred back to the National Assembly by President Jacob Zuma in September after he expressed reservations that it would not pass constitutional muster.
In particular, Zuma referred to two sections of the bill.
Deliberating on the sections, the National Ass ad hoc committee corrected grammar and completed an unfinished sentence as well as incorrect numbering.
“What caused the problem first of all, what caused the challenges identified by his excellence President Zuma are several technical errors in the final bill which was sent to him,” said Cwele.
During the debate yesterday, opposition parties reiterated that Zuma’s instructions were vague and that more clarity needed to be sought.
DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said there was much more that needed to be “fixed”.
This included fleshing out and clearly defining what was considered national security.
COPE MP Papi Kganare said his party did not “go along” with the charade and the ANC had “bulldozed” the bill through the deliberation process.
The bill was passed with 225 votes for and 88 against it. It will be sent to Zuma, who is expected to sign it into law.
Cwele hints at flaws in secrecy bill
Presenting the Protection of State Information Bill, dubbed by opposition parties and civil rights groups as the “secrecy bill”, Cwele said support to legislators needed to be improved.
“What is clear is that parliament must seriously increase its capacity to avoid technical errors in legislation as parliament is now, unlike during the apartheid era, dealing with large volumes of legislation.
“We must increase the capacity of parliament’s legal and drafting and committee sessions in order to provide the appropriate support to parliament in its committees when making amendments,” Cwele said.
The bill was referred back to the National Assembly by President Jacob Zuma in September after he expressed reservations that it would not pass constitutional muster.
In particular, Zuma referred to two sections of the bill.
Deliberating on the sections, the National Ass ad hoc committee corrected grammar and completed an unfinished sentence as well as incorrect numbering.
“What caused the problem first of all, what caused the challenges identified by his excellence President Zuma are several technical errors in the final bill which was sent to him,” said Cwele.
During the debate yesterday, opposition parties reiterated that Zuma’s instructions were vague and that more clarity needed to be sought.
DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said there was much more that needed to be “fixed”.
This included fleshing out and clearly defining what was considered national security.
COPE MP Papi Kganare said his party did not “go along” with the charade and the ANC had “bulldozed” the bill through the deliberation process.
The bill was passed with 225 votes for and 88 against it. It will be sent to Zuma, who is expected to sign it into law.
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