South Africa

Reports noted that the South African National Assembly adopted the Protection of Information Bill by majority vote of 229 favouring it, two abstentions and 107 votes against it. All opposition parties present in the House voted against the measure, while hundreds of black-clad activists protested against it outside the gates of Parliament. The Bill was meant to replace a piece of apartheid-era legislation that governed the classification of state secrets. Kasrils sought to create legislation that would protect state secrets but also uphold the constitutional principal of transparent governance. It included a provision that would allow whistleblowers to leak information that was in the public interest without fear of reprisal.1

In other developments, South Africa’s international relations department confirmed that a South African man had been abducted in Timbuktu, Mali. The department announced that it would render consular assistance for the man's family as well as investigate who was responsible.2

• 1. “Black Tuesday: Secrecy Bill passed in Parliament”, Mail and Guardian, November 22, 2011, at http://mg.co.za/article/2011-11-22-black-tuesday-secrecy-bill-passed-by-...
• 2. “South African and Swede kidnapped in Mali”, Mail and Guardian, November 26, 2011, at http://mg.co.za/article/2011-11-26-south-african-and-swede-kidnapped-in-...