21 August 1997

Dear Mr Mbeki

Re: Open Democracy Bill

The Freedom of Expression Institute understands that the Open Democracy Bill will come before parliament soon, having been approved by Cabinet in June. However, despite numerous attempts, the FXI along with several other organisations have been unable to secure a copy of the Bill in order to effectively respond to the document ahead of its tabling in parliament.

During the recent debacle between the Denel arms manufacturer and several newspapers around the disclosure of details surrounding an arms export deal, a lot was said about the Open Democracy Bill and its imminent promulgation. Both Minister Kader Asmal, the head of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, in media reports, and Adv Mojanku Gumbi from the Deputy President’s office, in a television debate  alluded to this Bill. However, civil society remains in the dark about its status and current form.

We find it unacceptable that legislation aimed at providing citizens with greater access to government information should be subject to the level of non-disclosure which currently surrounds the Open Democracy Bill, and strongly protest this. We understand that legislation and policy documents may be withheld from public scrutiny during the deliberative process. However, since cabinet had already approved the Bill two months ago we regard it as a matter  urgency that the Bill be made available to the public.

The FXI is further concerned that the failure to release the Bill to the public will rob civil society of a chance to effectively study and respond to the Bill, which we understand has undergone substantial changes since the last public Draft in May last year. For the FXI this is a flagrant violation of Constitutional obligations and the government’s stated commitment to openness, transparency and participatory government.

Your office is well aware of the great deal of civil society interest and initiatives surrounding this Bill since the appointment of a Task Group in 1994. The current state of  affairs surrounding the Bill rides roughshod over these initiatives and fails to take into account the consultative relationship set up between the Task Group and civil society organisations in the Open Democracy Advisory Forum (ODAF).

We urgently call on you to ensure that a draft of the Open Democracy Bill is made available to the public as soon as possible. We further call on you to ensure that civil society has sufficient time to study and respond to the proposed legislation before it is tabled in Parliament.
 

Yours faithfully
 
 

Mandla Seleoane
Chairperson - Freedom of Expression Institute