SAMWU against Information Bill

By Khanyisa Tabata
22 November 2011

The South African Municipal Workers Union says it is worried that the Protection of Information Bill will disadvantage whistle blowers and workers who are fighting corruption tooth and nail.

SAMWU spokesperson Tahir Sema says they are worried that the bill is now set to go before the National Assembly and then the National Council of Provinces, before it is sent to President Jacob Zuma to be signed into law.

“The Bill is not ready to be signed into law and is set to negatively impact the noble fight against corruption.

“For those of us in the Municipal sector, there are particular concerns. SAMWU has been in the forefront of fighting corruption at Municipal level, and long before it was politically acceptable to do so,” said Sema.

He says many of our leaders at local level were vilified, often victimised, and some physically attacked for courageously exposing corrupt practices.

“We remain proud of all of our members who have taken such a stand, and who have contributed substantially to awakening Government to launch an explicit and thorough anti-corruption drive.

“If the Protection of Information Bill is signed into law, it will not only enable a whole range of Municipal documents to be classified as secret, but will also serve to protect those who are misusing their positions for private and nefarious gain,” added Sema.