The South African parliamentary committee debated whether the proposed protection of information bill should cover the police and the military before recessing until after the May 18 municipal elections, according to reports on the meeting.
“Opposition parties disagreed on whether the bill should apply to police and defence, whose powers to classify information derive from existing security legislation,” according a report by the South African Press Association. “The Inkatha Freedom Party said it should, but the Democratic Alliance’s Dene Smuts said the ANC was contradicting a statement by State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele that it should cover only the intelligence services.”
African National Congress members of the committee caucused, the report said, but failed to settle the issue, and the meeting was adjourned.
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