COSATU welcomes President Ramaphosa’s assent of the following new progressive Acts of Parliament:
Film and Publications Amendment Act:
· This Amendment Act will provide additional protection to women and in particular young women, who are increasingly abused, threatened, blackmailed and humiliated by men distributing or threatening to distribute revenge porn.
o This will now be a serious criminal offence where the perpetrators can be sent to up to 4 years in prison or R300 000 in fines. We need such harsh laws to deal with those miscreants and Neanderthals amongst us who still think women are there to be abused.
· Internet service providers will be held responsible if they knowingly allowed or used their services to be used to distribute child pornography.
· The Act also tackles the dissemination of hate speech and the incitement to violence through the various forms of media. As seen recently in criminal acts of mob violence, this is needed to help further capacitate the law enforcement agencies to crack down on such criminalities.
Property Practitioners Act:
· Provides for further consumer protection and codes of conduct for property practitioners; and
· Puts pressure on the sector to transform.
Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Act:
· The Act provides for government to digitalise the property deeds sytems;
· Government committed itself in writing at Nedlac that this will not result any in any workers in the Deeds Registry losing their jobs;
o COSATU and its affiliate NEHAWU will hold government to respecting this commitment to workers.
· It will help to speed up the registration of property deeds which all too often take months, inhibit the growth of this sector and result in unnecessary delays in new home owners moving into their properties.
For further information please contact: Matthew Parks
COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator
Cell: 082 785 0687
Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za