Editors warn key points law will curb media freedom
The National Key Points Act, according to a Sanef statement released yesterday, was introduced by the National Party to protect certain geographical places against revolutionary activists. “This act severely restricts the coverage of news, especially at important buildings and institutions in SA,” it said.
The act is in the process of being replaced by the draft Key Points and Strategic Installations Bill of 2007.
While the safety and security department has said it cannot speak for the National Party, spokesman Trevor Bloem said: “Most, if not all, countries have legislation around their national key points.”
In 2004, President Thabo Mbeki transferred the powers and functions entrusted to the defence minister by the National Key Points Act to the safety and security minister and this change of mandate and the constitution necessitated a review of the National Key Points Act.
But Sanef has criticised what it says are the shallow depths to which the government has responded to this required amendment in its draft bill, and for the ministry not notifying the media before introducing the parliamentary process to approve the draft bill.
Bloem responded by saying that it was “regrettable that an organisation specialising in the dissemination of information can so easily distort issues”.
He said the important thing to note was that “no law has been changed”.
“A draft bill was published for public comment in April; a right that Sanef has utilised and their input will be considered as well as various inputs from other interested parties.
“After consultation with the state law advisers, a final bill will then be drawn up and submitted to cabinet,” Bloem said.
Only after approval by the cabinet would the bill be ready to be submitted to Parliament and another round of public hearings would presumably follow, Bloem said.
The Freedom of Expression Institute last week also expressed concern that the bill would introduce an advisory panel that would report to the minister before a key point could be named, but that little had been done to gain public approval in the process.
Sanef reiterated this view, saying that little had been changed in the amended version besides greatly increasing penalties.
“These are the types of details that will be clarified as the process unfolds,” Bloem said. “However, all stakeholders will be represented where applicable.” It was “envisaged that an updated list of national key points and strategic installations would be made available in the Government Gazette,” he said.
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