Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has confirmed that government has already drafted and circulated the proposed draft Bill to open up public access to the National Register for Sex Offenders.
Draft Bill not yet open for public comment
Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi confirmed this in a written response to a parliamentary question from deputy leader of Build One South Africa (BOSA) Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster.
Kubayi said they reviewed the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act and also identified “provisions within the Act that may require amendment to enable broader access to the [register].”
She said that changes were prepared after consultations and will target sections of the law relating to confidentiality and disclosure of information in the register.
“The department continues to make steady progress in considering the feasibility of making the National Register for Sex Offenders accessible and publicly available,” said Kubayi.
Why this matters
The move follows growing pressure from child-protection groups and advocates who say the current system is too slow and restrictive to help parents and other citizens.
Kubayi previously said she supported efforts to make the register more accessible to help protect vulnerable people from repeat offenders.
“We believe that keeping the register from the public has allowed offenders to commit the same offence repeatedly, causing untold harm to children and other vulnerable groups,” Kubayi said earlier in February during the debate of the State of the Nation Address (Sona).
But the process is not yet complete.
Kubayi said in her most recent answer to Parliament that the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser has not yet issued a constitutional opinion on making the register public. That opinion will only be pursued once the final draft Bill is ready to go through Cabinet.
“A legal opinion by the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser on the constitutionality of making the NRSO accessible to the public has not yet been obtained,” she said.
“The legal opinion will be obtained once a final draft Bill has been finalised, as part of the legislative process for processing the Bill through Cabinet.”
‘Risk to children’
Civil society organisation Action Society, earlier in April, launched a campaign to demand the immediate publication of the NRSO.
“Parents are expected to trust that the system is working, but they are denied access to information that could directly affect their child’s safety,” said Juanita du Preez, spokesperson for Action Society.
“What concerns us is that the risk to children is often not outside their daily lives, but within it,” Du Preez says.
“Parents are making decisions about schools, caregivers and activities without access to information that could help them assess that risk.”
The organisation also questions the continued reliance on privacy arguments to justify limiting access to the register.
“No parent is asking for unnecessary information,” Du Preez said.
“They are asking for the ability to make informed decisions about their children’s safety. That is a reasonable expectation.
“We are asking a straightforward question,” Du Preez said. “If this register exists to protect children, why is it not accessible to the people responsible for their safety?”
