Order, hon members!
MR M G ORIANI-AMBROSINI: It is whether or not we go to jail; whether or not the journalists go to jail; whether or not the members of the public go to jail if we act, if we report, if we speak about a secret document which has been leaked to us but which we had nothing to do with leaking.
It is the reason Julian Assange could not go to jail in the United States. The person who leaked the information went to jail and the key was thrown away. [Interjections.] He could not go to jail because the genie had left the bottle. The secret was out there.
Instead, what this Bill does is impose a string of obligations on all of us - on the people of South Africa - to help the government keep a secret which it, for whatever reason, fails to keep. It is a reflection of a secrecy mindset which is extremely pernicious in all countries, but in the South African context, especially. Each country, including the United States, the UK, France, Italy, and so forth, has had many instances of secret services having interfered in a political process, and they then become the greatest threat to democracy. This country has experienced the secret services having interfered in the making and the unmaking of the President of the Republic.
This can only happen under a cloud of secrecy. The only remedy and medicine is the vigilance of the citizens. Citizens cannot be disempowered by the fear of touching information which has been leaked. If there are people out there who wish to take the pain of leaking information and face the sentences, we must be able to act on it. [Interjections.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]