South Africa

5 May 2022: DearSA welcomes the announcement by Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla to extend public comment on the proposed amendments to the National Health Act regulations. Comments will now close on 5 July 2022, which amounts to an extension of three months. This announcement by the Minister comes after DearSA sent a communication to the Department of Health asking for an extension of the commentary period due to the flawed public participation process. Several other organisations similarly expressed strong concerns about the process and the contents of the proposed regulatory amendments. “DearSA sees this as a victory for all of civil society. And is proof that public pressure from civil society organisations safeguards our democratic processes. We call on all active citizens who have not yet had their say to submit their comments on the NHA regulations. Their input is vital in determining the shape of the regulations and whether or not it will be accepted or rejected.” Said Rob Hutchinson, Chairman of DearSA. In addition to the request for an extension of the comment period, DearSA also outlined our concerns about: The original commentary period of only 30 days is unreasonable and unjustifiable. It is not an adequately long time considering the voluminous nature of the regulations. Members of the public raised concerns that they received notification that their submissions were deleted without being read. The proposed regulations are ultra vires. “There are serious concerns about how the government handled this public participation process. Especially the lack of transparency and the unreasonable nature of the timeframes. Extending the commentary period is a step in the right direction, and we welcome it. But we remain concerned about the implications for future public participation processes.” Said Gideon Joubert, DearSA CEO. DearSA delivered 283 436 individual comments to the government. Of these 96.1% of commenters outright rejected the proposed amendments, …

It is no secret that the women of South Africa are plagued by violence. Gender-based violence (GBV) is a deep-seated and widespread problem that has a disproportionate impact on every aspect of women’s lives. GBV is systemic and entrenched in South African institutions, cultures and traditions. The SAPS’s statistics on violence, shows that 902 women were killed from October to December 2021. During these three months, 11,315 women reported rapes, meaning that about 123 cases were reported per day. These statistics are self-evident that the SAPS and South African courts are failing to protect our women. According to a 2021 report by Statistics South Africa (click here), households’ satisfaction with the dealings with criminals by the SAPS and courts declined from 59.4% and 63.9% to 54.2% and 41.1% respectively from 2013 to 2018. The outcry of South African women was finally heard, when President Ramaphosa approved three GBV Bills as part of South Africa’s legislation on 28 January 2022. It is important that women are aware of how these laws can protect them: 1. Criminal Law (Sexual Offenses and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Bill [B16-2020] Recognizes sexual intimidation as a criminal offense; Increases a person’s duty to report when a child is suspected of being a victim of sexual offenses; VERY IMPORTANT: Provides that the details of persons convicted of sexual offenses are made available to the public. 2. Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bill [B17-2020] Persons accused of GBV will only receive bail in exceptional circumstances and after a court’s careful consideration of the victim’s feeling of security; Victims and relatives of deceased victims will have the opportunity to address the parole board before a decision can be made on parole. 3. The Domestic Violence Amendment Bill [B20-2020] The definition of domestic violence has been expanded to include the following victims of assault: persons engaged to be married, persons …

4 May 2022: Comments on proposed amendments to the National Health Act regulations have now closed. The suggested regulatory amendments would effectively continue the National State of Disaster permanently. Among other significant changes, some of the amended regulations include: Mandatory medical examinations, isolation, and treatments for people with notifiable medical conditions. Mandatory wearing of face masks for indoor gatherings and public transport. Travellers entering and leaving South Africa must have a vaccine certificate or a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours. The Department of Health may give advice relating to curfews, a national lockdown, sports, economic activity, public transportation, religious and cultural practices, and the sale of alcohol. “These restrictions essentially mean that lockdown doesn’t merely continue in spirit, but also in practice. The government can arbitrarily and at whim implement curfews, travel restrictions, alcohol bans, and full hard lockdown. It appears to be a cynical attempt to retain extraordinary emergency powers that government had to surrender with the end of the National State of Disaster.” Said Gideon Joubert, DearSA CEO, on Monday. DearSA delivered over 283 436 comments to the government during the Draft Amendments to the Health Act campaign. The volume of submissions during the commenting period exceeded any previous DearSA campaigns. Therefore it is the most significant single campaign the platform has yet run. The final results were 96.1% of commenters outright rejecting the proposed amendments, 1.18% supporting the amendments, and 2.72% not fully supporting them. According to Rob Hutchinson, the founder of DearSA, “the results indicate the overwhelming majority of commenters wholly oppose the new regulations. Considering the number of total comments we received in such a short period, these proposed amendments are a pressing and significant issue for the public. We thank all the …

Prosecute the state capture culprits, recover the looted funds and get rid of those still in powerful positions. This is another report making it clear who is culpable, starting from Jacob Zuma. Today the State Capture Commission provided us with another detailed, damning report on our government, the ANC and the business people they encouraged to loot. It is Part 4 and at least one more report is expected. Again, it contains information that broadly has been very well known, much of it for years, but that was wilfully ignored by those who were responsible for taking action. Again, it shows clearly the organised, widespread, deliberate and shameless nature of these criminal activities. But the Commission’s reports cannot be ignored: this is the Deputy Chief Justice – now the Chief Justice – who has heard the evidence, considered it, and made his findings. We note this important comment in particular, which CJ Zondo makes regarding Zuma’s role in the attempt by the Guptas to capture Treasury: “There are no words to describe this conduct on President Zuma’s part except to say that he must have been determined to give the Guptas direct access to the nation’s Treasury to hand the control of our National Treasury to the Guptas before he left office. Was this the same man that stood twice in front of the people of South Africa and took an oath and said: ‘I Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, swear/solemnly affirm that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa… I solemnly and sincerely promise that I will always promote all that will advance the Republic and oppose all that may harm it.’ Yes, this was the same man.” This concludes what we as South Africans knew all along: Zuma put himself before anything or anyone else in the country and he did not shy away when he was handing the country’s assets to the Guptas. The report implicates the ANC too, detailing how EOH paid millions of rand to the ANC to obtain tenders and criticising the party for standing by and watching …