Presidential Spokesperson Mac Maharaj today
said President Jacob Zuma will not comment on the Protection of Information
Bill until he has been advised by the legislature.
This follows the passing of the bill by the
National Assembly on Thursday.
Opposition parties and civil society have
called for the bill to go to the Constitutional
Court
Maharaj the legislature and judiciary and
executive are three arms of government and it would be premature and
inappropriate for president to comment on the matter, until he has been
formally advised by the legislature of the bill and called upon to enact it into
law.
Furthermore Maharaj explained that, that is
when the matter will receive his attention.
Meanwhile the Ministry of State Security
has welcomed the latest developments on the Protection of State Information
Bill.
The ministry said it believes the bill now
creates a better balance between the constitutional provisions of access to
information and the limitation of that access in the interest of advancing
national security.
Ministry of State Security Spokesperson Brian
Dube said at this stage this is a very much improved bill and it takes into
account most of the concerns raised in relation to the limited public interest defended
offers issues around corruption and criminal activities and it also gives added
protection to whistle blowers.
He added that all these things make it a much better bill, a bill that all of us should be able to find a way of working around and ensuring that it keeps our country safe and expose corruption.
No comments:
Post a Comment