Hon Speaker, those of us who are old enough to have felt the effects of apartheid, who fought against its evil and racist laws and vowed that never again would we allow such oppressive, secret and damaging laws to be applied in a free and democratic South Africa, have reason, like the ACDP, to question the rationale behind retaining this archaic piece of legislation, which the National Key Points Act is.
There are many problems with this Act, which Prof Pierre de Vos so eloquently articulates. Firstly, there are the provisions of law of general application. Because no list of key points is published, it is not possible for the public to know where or what they are, and then to behave accordingly. A person must be able to know a law before he or she is able to conform his or her action to the prescripts of that particular law.
Secondly, sections 2 and 2A, together with section 10 of the Act, as well as the section of the Act which refers to the draconian Official Secrets Act of 1956, when read together, criminalise some forms of expression and constitute a clear infringement of the right of free expression. These include freedom of the press and other media, and the freedom to receive or impart information or ideas.
Thirdly, the Act also bestows vast discretionary powers on the Minister of Defence, not only to declare key points, but also to decide how security should be handled there. In addition, the Act prescribes that the owner should be liable for security upgrades. The Act therefore bestows law- making powers on a member of the executive - powers which the Constitution requires the legislature to exercise. In addition, the provision whereby the owner of the key point is required to see to its security at his or her own expense would certainly constitute unfair discrimination.
It is no wonder that the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference states, and the ACDP agrees, that anyone with a feeling for the core values of our Constitution will immediately realise that some of the Act's provisions belong in the previous era and have no place in a constitutional democracy. [Applause.]
The ACDP welcomes moves by the ruling party and members of the opposition to change or amend those sections of the Act that are certainly undemocratic and unconstitutional. One more day with this Act is one day too many. I thank you. [Applause.]