The ANC's decision to steamroll the Protection of Information Bill through the National Assembly earlier this week was disgraceful and an insult to all South Africans.
The ANC's decision to steamroll the Protection of Information Bill through the National Assembly earlier this week was disgraceful and an insult to all South Africans.
It was particularly insulting to the memory of the founding members and other struggle heroes of the party that was established 99 years ago to fight for democracy and equal rights for all.
Ever since the ANC was created in 1912, its most powerful weapon has been the conscience of moral men and women. It never based the struggle on who was the richest or who was the strongest – it was always predicated on who was morally right.
The party leaders applied this strategy because they knew that any discussion about principles and ideology had to end with an unequivocal condemnation of racism and the apartheid regime.
When ANC leaders instructed party Members of Parliament to vote on Tuesday, they made it very clear that the MPs were NOT to vote according to their conscience, but rather according to party instructions. In so doing, the ANC leadership was deliberately stomping on the most potent weapon of the struggle years – an honest person’s conscience.
It has become ominously clear that the ANC does not want thinking people to occupy their benches in the House of Assembly – a thoughtful mind can be a dangerous thing if you are a power-hungry leader. ANC top men want mindless dummies who st on their seats, do what they are told, and meekly obey instructions not to wear black.
The ANC leadership have shown, time and time again, that the single most valued characteristic of a cadre is blind loyalty to the powers that be. Strong moral conscience? Not so much.
The ANC has argued that the Protection of Information Bill – without a public interest clause – is intended to protect the security of the state. This argument is utter nonsense. If this were indeed the aim of this legislation it would include a public interest clause, because there is no clash between the real security of the state and the interests of the public.
There is however, a massive clash between the public interest and crooked government officials.
In trying to accept the legitimacy of the government’s arguments in favour of the Protection of Information Bill we have to ask – has there ever been a single case since 1994 when the security of this country has been compromised due to the lack of such a Bill or Act?
The next question is – have the interests of this country been horribly damaged by corrupt officials who would have been protected by such nefarious legislation?
The truth of the matter is that the ANC leadership is mutilating the credibility of this country with a Bill whose only real purpose is to protect corrupt officials from public scrutiny.
