ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga has dismissed the DA's complaint about the state security department's Protection of State Information Bill advert as "absurd and ridiculous".
One of the problems that "have been lamented about by the majority of stakeholders involved in the bill's process has been the lack of knowledge pertaining to the objectives and intentions of this draft legislation among the public", Motshekga said on Tuesday.
He said the ANC parliamentary caucus and the National Council of Provinces committee dealing with the bill had used public consultation processes to educate the people on the bill and get their views.
The department had a right to educate the public on the bill' s objectives , Motshekga said.
"It is silly for the DA to regard this as a violation of the principle of separation of powers. The department is educating South Africans on the facts around the bill, not influencing or meddling in the parliamentary process."
He said the campaign was important, particularly in light of "one-sided reporting by certain sections of the media due to their interest in the bill".
"We are confident the Advertising Standards Authority will see the DA's complaint for what it is - a silly and opportunistic political game," Motshekga said.
DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said earlier this week that her party was lodging a complaint with the authority .
"The campaign ... seeks to persuade the public the purpose of the bill is to protect personal information, such as birth certificates and drivers' licences," she said.
But the adverts focused on "a narrow and largely irrelevant" aspect of the bill, she said .
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