Written by: FOR SA
Article source: forsa.org.za

Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) has written to the Department of Justice, calling the process for public comments on the PEPUDA Amendment Bill (the Bill) “fundamentally flawed” after it discovered that the published email address for the Department to receive submissions is no longer active. In a phone call with the Department, the explanation was given that they did not anticipate the volume of submissions they have already received.

In a subsequent letter to FOR SA, the Department said, “We are aware of the fact that the inbox of the relevant official is full. She has since yesterday taken other steps to reduce the emails in her inbox. As she is cleaning it, the comments keep on streaming in. Sorry for the inconvenience. We will be in a position on Monday to give another email address that can be used. We will make the address available on our website.”

“The Department cannot gazette one email address for submissions and then during the course of the process change the email address”, said Michael Swain, Executive Director of FOR SA. “This derails the entire democratic process of public participation.”

The Department initially gave 30 working days for public comment on the Bill and initially refused to grant a general extension until 30 June 2021, because “the Department needs to deal with this matter urgently”. It subsequently gave an undertaking to FOR SA that it would consider all submissions received until 30 June 2021.

FOR SA can confirm that through the DearSA on-line platform alone, 30,000 submissions have already been sent to the email address gazetted by the Department, many of which are opposing the proposed amendments. The change of email address at the very moment when submissions are pouring in, will inevitably result in the Department not receiving countless submissions.

The Bill has been widely criticised by multiple sectors of society for its radical expansion of the scope of the current Act. The wide redefinition of discrimination and equality, together with the removal of intention, will have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences whereby people may break this law without being aware of it or having any intention of so doing. It significantly extends legal liability, both for individuals and organisations and it further empowers Government to impose regulations and Codes of Practice to selectively enforce its provisions.

“PEPUDA is the pre-eminent piece of legislation and this Bill states that all other laws, policies and regulations will be overhauled to ensure compliance with the radical new standards it proposes,” said Swain. “The Department initially wanted to rush this through and now they are literally blocking public participation”.

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Date published: 28/06/2021

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