Changes to Equality Act will cause confusion

I JOIN the multitude of concerned people and organisations that have raised their serious concerns and objections to the way in which the amendments to the Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, otherwise known as Pepuda or the Equality Act, are being mooted.

Although discrimination is unacceptable and equality is an important human right, the amendments hold serious threats for citizens if adopted in their current form. Due to our painful history, the Equality Act is needed, and the act is imperative for the protection of each individual’s rights. The current Equality Act, as interpreted by our courts, is not problematic, is a very good piece of legislation and works well with the equality courts.

However, the proposed amendments to the bill which seek to change and revise the act are the problem. These intended amendments will transform the Equality Act into a broad and open-ended act. For example, the amendments will expand the definition of “equality” and “discrimination” further than the Constitution, and citizens will not be sure when they are breaking the law and when not.

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg