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The Ad Hoc Committee on the Protection of State Information Bill met today and unanimously adopted its programme, with a few amendments.

The programme, which includes public hearings in all nine provinces of South Africa, will also accommodate amendments put forward by Committee members.

These amendments include:
• The 15 member Committee will be divided into three delegations especially in larger provinces like Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.
• The various provinces will be requested to guide the Committee with regards to the areas where public hearings are to be held.
• The Committee will ensure that the communities visited will be fully briefed about the Bill before the Committee conducts hearings.
• Having noted the limited time allocated for interest groups and civil society in the programme, the Committee has agreed to extend their time for deliberations if necessary.

The Committee will ensure that they create opportunities for every section of the South African population to ensure that everyone feels comfortable in the public hearings and all organizations will be allowed to present their submissions. The amended programme which will include the inputs of all provinces will be made available on Thursday, 19 January 2012.