Higher education minister Blade Nzimande has proposed the effective nationalisation of skills training. He also founded a trust that received millions from Sector Education Training Authorities (Setas) that fall under his purview, though he denies any conflict of interest. 

The Right To Know campaign is taking its fight to the courts, demanding that the SA Police Services release its list of National Key Points. It is arguing that making public the list of Key Points is a crucial step in challenging the creep of unjustified national security secrecy in SA.

For all the outrage over the US surveillance programme leaked by whistleblower Ed Snowden, South Africans will be shocked to learn that our own government is miles ahead of the US in terms of snooping. 

South Africa's Secrecy Bill is all about protecting our own spy agencies from scrutiny, says Steven Friedman. Recent revelations by former CIA spy Edward Snowden of massive surveillance programmes being carried out by the US and Britain has triggered a timely debate over how much privacy should we be handing over to these agencies.

Given the recent controversy over SA's Secrecy Bill, here comes an alarming disclosure of just how far government over-reach goes. US National Security Agency advisor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden, says everyone's communications are being monitored by US intelligence agencies.

Bad laws end up on the statute books because no-one holds law makers accountable for the decisions they make. Successful countries subject proposed laws to rigorous cost-benefit analyses to ensure they do not produce unforeseen or unintended consequences. It's time we did the same.

The so-called Secrecy Bill remains one of the most controversial and divisive pieces of legislation to come before the National Assembly. Despite improvements, the current version remains an affront to individual rights and could end up in the Constitutional Court.