ALERT: COGTA Hearings on CRL Report, to Take Place Mid-October

ALERT: COGTA Hearings on CRL Report, to Take Place Mid-October

We have just been informed that NEW DATES have been set for hearings by the COGTA Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on the CRL’s Report on the Commercialisation of Religion and Abuse of People’s Belief Systems.  FOR SA’s position is that the CRL’s recommendations for the compulsory licensing of religion, is a clear overreach of the powers of the CRL and effectively amounts to State capture of religion.

These hearings will take place in Cape Town at Parliament on Tuesday, 17th and Wednesday, 18th October 2017 from 09:30 – 13:00.

It should be noted that these dates were communicated the day after the CRL presented its Annual Report on its activities to Parliament.  In the abovementioned Commercialisation of Religion Report, the CRL included a page confirming that its recommendations have the support of over 30 million Christians from all the major denominations and faith groups.  We know for a fact that this claim is completely untrue and grossly misleading.

FOR SA, therefore, believes that it is of VITAL IMPORTANCE that all those who have already sent in written submissions to the COGTA Committee and/or asked for an opportunity to make a verbal presentation, immediately confirm to the Committee that you want your views to be considered at this time.

NOTE:  In light of the very serious nature of this matter, we further recommend that a very senior person represents your organisation at these hearings.  We also recommend on the first day of the presentation to the COGTA Committee that you prepare a Press Release with a summary of your position on this matter.

 COGTA may be contacted as follows:

Shereen Cassiem  (Secretariat)  

Email: scassiem@parliament.gov.za

Cell: 083 709 8533

Mzameni Mdakane (Chairperson)

Email:  mmdakane@parliament.gov.za   

In the event that you have not yet made a submission to the COGTA Committee, we recommend that you visit the FOR SA website.  On the Home Page, in the image slider, you can click to download a pro-forma submission which you can cut/paste and amend as you see fit on your own letterhead.  We suggest that you specifically request the opportunity to make a verbal presentation in the covering email that you will send to the COGTA Committee Secretary, together with your written submission.

Please consider copying FOR SA in your correspondence (at legal@forsa.org.za), so that we can keep up to date on progress.

Thank you for standing together to make your voice heard and to say “No” to the recommendations of the CRL Report to license (and thereby control) all religious practitioners and places of worship in South Africa. 

We look forward to seeing you at the hearings in Cape Town – and should you require any further assistance or information, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.