# summary - Link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/ee-regulations/summary/ - Published: 2023-05-26T13:59:55+02:00 - Author: dearSA _Advert_ _Advert – scroll down_ [ View the campaign](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/ee-regulations/) Participation report _coming soon_ Public comments as delivered to parliament ⌊Loader⌉ Loading... ⌊EAD Logo⌉ Taking too long? ⌊Reload⌉ Reload document | [ ⌊Open⌉ Open in new tab ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/14185340/EER2023-1.pdf) [Download [2.71 MB] ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/14185340/EER2023-1.pdf) ### STATEMENTS FROM ORGANISATIONS Click on a logo to view. Want to display a statement? [Click here. ](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/ee-regulations/summary/ eea@dearsouthafrica.co.za?subject=org info for EEA page) Close ### Freedom of Religion SA (FOR SA) TEMPLATE PROVIDED BY FOR SA ### I strongly oppose the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill [B9B – 2018], which I believe to be unconstitutional and unnecessary, for the following reasons: 1. The Bill violates our constitutional rights as religious persons to express our religious beliefs without fear of punishment or persecution (section 15, read with section 16). Increasingly, around the world but also in South Africa, various holy scriptures (particularly on contentious issues) are regarded as “politically incorrect” or “offensive”, allegedly causing emotional and/or social harm. 2. I specifically oppose the Bill’s: 3. a. wide definition of “harm” (in Clause 1); b. the failure to define “hatred” (in Clause 1); and c. definition of, and creation of, the crime of “hate speech” (in Clause 4). 4. The creation of the crime of “hate speech” for saying / distributing something which could possibly be construed as “harmful”, will have certain unintended consequences, namely the criminalisation of good / well-meaning people who will be prosecuted for saying what they sincerely believe (according to their holy texts) and sent to jail. 5. There are already sufficient existing laws dealing with “hate speech”. 6. For all of the reasons given, I ask: 7. a. For the scrapping of the “hate speech” sections from the Bill altogether; b. Alternatively, should the “hate speech” provisions remain part of the Bill, we ask: c. a. That “harm” be defined as: “gross emotional and psychological detriment that objectively and severely undermines the human dignity of the targeted group”; and b. That “hatred” be defined as: “strong and deeply-felt emotions of enmity, ill- will, detestation, malevolence and vilification against members of an identifiable group, that implies that members of that group are to be despised, scorned, denied respect and subjected to ill-treatment based on their group affiliation”. d. That Clause 4(2)(d) (the “religious exemption clause”) be strengthened as follows to protect: _“expression of any religious conviction, tenet, belief, teaching, doctrine or writings, by a religious organisation or an individual, in public or in private, to the extent that such expression does not actively support, instigate, exhort, or call for extreme detestation, vilification, enmity, ill-will and malevolence that constitutes incitement to cause gross emotional and psychological harm that severely undermines the dignity of the targeted group, based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation”._ The signing of the Employment Equity Bill by president Cyril Ramaphosa continues to receive mixed reactions. The Institute of Race Relations has joined Solidarity and the DA in rejecting the bill and taking legal action against it. Gabriel Crouse, Head of Campaigns at the IRR, weighs in. The public has just over 20 days to comment on the Department of Employment and Labour’s draft sectoral employment equity targets for designated businesses in SA. Under the new proposed laws the employment minister has the power to set sector specific targets for transformation achieved over five years. Summary – provided by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr ⌊Loader⌉ Loading... ⌊EAD Logo⌉ Taking too long? ⌊Reload⌉ Reload document | [ ⌊Open⌉ Open in new tab ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26133912/Employment-Law-Alert-17-April-2023.pdf) [Download [1.34 MB] ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26133912/Employment-Law-Alert-17-April-2023.pdf) Draft Employment Equity Regulations ⌊Loader⌉ Loading... ⌊EAD Logo⌉ Taking too long? ⌊Reload⌉ Reload document | [ ⌊Open⌉ Open in new tab ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26134723/230512Draft_Employment_Equity_Regulation-web.pdf) [Download [9.40 MB] ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26134723/230512Draft_Employment_Equity_Regulation-web.pdf) The Employment Equity Amendment Act ⌊Loader⌉ Loading... ⌊EAD Logo⌉ Taking too long? ⌊Reload⌉ Reload document | [ ⌊Open⌉ Open in new tab ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26134834/48418employment-equity-amendment-act42022.pdf) [Download [194.97 KB] ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26134834/48418employment-equity-amendment-act42022.pdf) In the media * BusinessTech — [Deadline for South Africa’s strict new BEE rules draws near](https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/694139/south-africas-plan-to-save-its-water-industry/) * MoneyWeb — [New BEE bill to face legal hurdles](https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/new-bee-bill-to-face-legal-hurdles/) * IOL — [New BEE law is a sure sign of madness](https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/opinion/new-bee-law-is-a-sure-sign-of-madness-b7bd7843-ad36-49c4-9232-3ffefdff0ff5) * BusinessTech — [Businesses push back against South Africa’s strict new BEE laws – with another legal challenge on the way](https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/694231/businesses-push-back-against-south-africas-strict-new-bee-laws-with-another-legal-challenge-on-the-way/) * News24 — [Employment Equity Act violates key constitutional value of non-racialism, says DA](https://www.news24.com/news24/politics/political-parties/employment-equity-act-violates-key-constitutional-value-of-non-racialism-says-da-20230524) * SalaaMedia — [SA businesses halt expansions due to Employment Equity Act regulations](https://salaamedia.com/2023/05/16/sa-businesses-halt-expansions-due-to-employment-equity-act-regulations/) * DailyMaverick — [Draft employment equity regulations an incoherent mess, but criticism largely based on false claims](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-23-draft-employment-equity-regulations-an-incoherent-mess-but-criticism-largely-based-on-false-claims/) * BusinessTech — [Strict new BEE laws could result in 600,000 job losses: DA](https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/690247/strict-new-bee-laws-could-result-in-600000-job-losses-da/) * Citizen — [BEE backlash: New race targets ‘incoherent and incomprehensible’](https://www.citizen.co.za/news/bee-race-targets-draft-employment-equity-amendment-latest/) * Global Compliance News — [Amended employment equity laws to further regulate diversity and transformation](https://www.globalcompliancenews.com/2023/05/12/https-insightplus-bakermckenzie-com-bm-employment-compensation-south-africa-amended-employment-equity-laws-to-further-regulate-diversity-and-transformation_05052023/) Encourage participation with this poster/flyer – distribute or place at the office ⌊Loader⌉ Loading... ⌊EAD Logo⌉ Taking too long? ⌊Reload⌉ Reload document | [ ⌊Open⌉ Open in new tab ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26160056/EE-regulations-QR-poster.pdf) [Download [159.61 KB] ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/26160056/EE-regulations-QR-poster.pdf)