The ANC has announced “significant’ concessions on the controversial Protection of Information Bill, dubbed the Secrecy Bill, and said it needs to be redrafted to ensure its constitutionality.
According to the Times Live website one concession involves dropping the mandatory prison sentences for whistle-blowers who leak state information and dropping any reference to minimum sentences, leaving it to the courts to decide the punishment. Another concession involves narrowing the authority to classify information, with state bodies not directly involved with security having to apply for the right to classify information.
The concessions reportedly address three out of five fundamental concerns voiced by the SA National Editors Forum in a letter to MPs this week.
(Source: Times Live)
