Secrecy bill deadline may be extended again

The deadline for the ad hoc committee on the Protection of Information Bill to finish its work could be extended again.

ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga will table a motion before the National Assembly on Thursday proposing that the House extend the deadline, his office said in a statement.

"The chief whip will propose that the ad hoc committee report on the task, for which it was established almost two years ago, by 23 September 2011."

The lifespan of the committee has been extended several times amid a storm of protest from journalists, rights activists and legal experts, who have described the bill as an attempt to muzzle the media and return to apartheid-style state secrecy.

Cosatu has threatened a Constitutional Court challenge should the bill be passed in its current form.

Motshekga's office said opposition parties represented in the multiparty chief whips forum had been consulted on the proposed extension and there was a consensus.

"We believe that the extension of the life of this committee will afford parliamentarians sufficient time to administer the bill with thoroughness and precision, taking into consideration [a] wide range of views already expressed during the public consultation process."

The extension would reaffirm the ANC's commitment to the participatory process, which would ensure that all interested parties made further input on the bill.

"This will ensure that, at the end, parliament emerges with a quality product," Motshekga's office said.

"We are satisfied with the progress on the bill thus far and the manner in which it has evolved since it was referred by cabinet to parliament.

"Given the importance of the bill in our society, its conclusion by the proposed deadline is of paramount importance.

"We are confident that there shall be no further extensions of datelines on this particular bill," it said.

The committee was supposed to have completed its work on the bill and have reported to the Assembly by June 24.