SADTU supports civil society in pushing for copyright reform to boost schools' access to resources
The SA Democratic Teachers' Union has called for the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) to be signed into law to improve access to resources for school children.
Image: Supplied
The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) has thrown its weight behind a coalition of civil society organisations picketing outside the Constitutional Court on Wednesday, urging the President to sign the long-delayed Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) and Performers' Protection Amendment Bill (PPAB) into law.
The protest, led by Blind SA, SECTION27, ReCreate Action, and the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA), seeks to pressure the state into advancing laws that campaigners say are crucial for educational equity, disability rights, and the protection of creatives.
The CAB, which amends South Africa's outdated 1978 Copyright Act, and the PPAB, which amends the 1967 Performers' Protection Act, were passed by Parliament in February 2024. However, President Cyril Ramaphosa has not yet signed them into law, citing constitutional concerns with several sections and referring the bills to the Constitutional Court in October 2024.
SADTU says the bills are vital to ensuring access to inclusive, decolonised education, especially in under-resourced rural schools. 'Fair copyright legislation is essential to enable teachers to adapt and use materials, enrich them, make them context-specific, and address an increasingly diverse student body,' the union said in a statement.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
The Constitutional Court is hearing arguments for two days, starting on Wednesday, on the constitutionality of certain provisions of the CAB, including fair use and exceptions for education and disabilities.
Blind SA, represented by SECTION27, is participating as an interested party after winning a court order in 2022 compelling Parliament to amend copyright law to accommodate the blind by September 2024.
However, when the CAB was not signed into law and the 2022 court order had lapsed, the groups returned to court to seek relief. The Constitutional Court recently reconfirmed the 2022 order with some amendments.
'We believe that the exceptions for education, libraries, and archives are essential in transforming our society,' said Blind SA. SECTION27 echoed this, calling the CAB a vehicle for equal access to educational materials and cultural participation.
Other supporters include the Library and Information Association of South Africa, Wikimedia South Africa, and Right2Know. 'This is an unprecedented coming together of sectors of society who are disadvantaged by current copyright laws,' said ReCreate Action.
For actors, the PPAB is equally critical. 'The CAB enables the collection and distribution of royalties, while the PPAB grants performers the right to earn them,' said SAGA, highlighting the vulnerability of performers in an unregulated industry.
THE MERCURY
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Private sector signals big appetite for transforming SA's logistics landscape
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy's quest to revitalise South Africa's ailing logistics sector through private sector participation has gained significant traction, with the request for information generating substantial industry interest and setting the stage for major reforms. The Department of Transport's request for information (RFI), which closed on 30 May after an extension due to 'overwhelming interest', received 162 formal responses across three critical freight corridors. The RFI portal alone registered 11,600 visits, signalling a big private sector appetite for participation in South Africa's struggling rail and port infrastructure. Judging by the response breakdown, there's strong interest across all key economic corridors: 51 responses for the iron ore and manganese corridor stretching from the Northern Cape to Saldanha and Nelson Mandela Bay, 48 responses for the coal and chrome corridor linking Limpopo and Mpumalanga to Richards Bay, and 63 responses for the container and automotive intermodal corridor connecting Gauteng to Durban, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape. Creecy, who launched the RFI in March, has been clear about the government's intentions: attract private investment and expertise to bring South Africa's logistics infrastructure to world-class standards while maintaining public ownership of strategic assets. Public ownership with private custodians 'Strategic infrastructure such as rail lines and ports will remain in public ownership, as assets belonging to South African people,' she said, establishing this principle as foundational to the reform process. The minister's approach acknowledges the reality facing state-owned logistics giant Transnet — limited state resources and massive infrastructure backlogs have severely hampered the entity's ability to fulfil its mandate. The solution, according to Creecy's vision, lies in leveraging private capital and expertise while preserving state control over core infrastructure assets. Five pillars of reform The private sector participation process will be guided by five key principles that reflect broader national objectives. Reforming Transnet in accordance with the Cabinet-approved roadmap for freight logistics. This includes the unbundling of Transnet, separating the infrastructure manager from operations, to introduce open access to the freight rail network. Ensuring a just transition with maximum job retention. This highlights the department's commitment to mitigating potential negative impacts on employment during the reform process. Safeguarding state ownership of immovable assets. As mentioned, rail lines and ports will remain in public ownership. Promoting localisation and industrialisation. This aims to develop economic benefits and growth through the private sector participation projects. Supporting Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment and gender equality. This underscores the commitment to inclusive economic development and transformation within the sector. Under Creecy's leadership, the department has moved swiftly to realise this vision, establishing an interim Private Sector Participation Unit and finalising an agreement with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to host a permanent unit for managing the process. Timeline for transformation The RFI was, of course, just the opening phase gambit of reform. Requests for proposals (RFPs) for freight rail and port projects are expected by August, with the minister projecting 18 to 24 months to reach financial close on these RFPs. The endgame reform agenda is about more than freight logistics. A second RFI batch focusing on passenger rail initiatives will be released in July, covering operational areas including signalling, depots, rolling stock and high-speed rail corridors. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) is expected to issue RFPs in October. Creecy has also outlined immediate intervention measures. Independent technical assessments have been completed for the export coal rail network and iron ore corridor, with various funding sources available for immediate rehabilitation efforts, including Transnet's current budget, the National Treasury's budget facility for infrastructure, and private investment through existing customer agreements. A great privatisation? New regulations now allow collaborations between Transnet and private sector operators for short-term interventions to repair and upgrade infrastructure, a convenient bridge while longer-term private sector participation arrangements are finalised. The strong response to the RFI shows significant private sector confidence in South Africa's logistics potential, despite years of operational challenges at Transnet that have constrained economic growth. With all submitted information being treated with strict confidentiality and used exclusively to inform PSP project development, the stage appears set for a fundamental transformation of SA's logistics landscape. DM
Daily Maverick
7 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Words that wound — ‘Kill the Boer' is legal, but not wise for a fragile South Africa
In March 2025, South Africa's Constitutional Court upheld a contentious ruling that the slogan 'Kill the Boer, kill the farmer,' a liberation-era chant, does not constitute hate speech under South African law. This judgment followed an appeal by AfriForum against a previous judgment. The civil rights organisation argued that the slogan incited violence and hatred, particularly against white South Africans and especially farmers. The court found, however, that the phrase, when understood in its historical and political context, did not meet the legal threshold of hate speech. That said, it is argued here that while the slogan may be constitutionally protected, its deliberate use in contemporary political settings is not merely provocative, it is profoundly unwise. In a society still grappling with the legacies of apartheid, endemic inequality and fragile race relations, words carry weight far beyond their legal definitions. It is within this context that the South Africa Social Cohesion Index (Sasci), developed by the Inclusive Society Institute, has drawn timely attention to a worrying decline in societal cohesion by providing critical insights into why the continued use of divisive slogans serve only to jeopardise the country's progress toward unity and social stability. The Constitutional Court's reasoning The Constitutional Court's dismissal of the appeal by AfriForum was grounded in legal and historical nuance. The justices concurred with the 2022 Equality Court ruling that the chant should not be taken literally but as a symbolic relic of the anti-apartheid struggle. It was not, they emphasised, a call to actual violence against individuals or groups. There was also insufficient evidence linking the use of the slogan to specific acts of harm or incitement, which is a requirement for speech to be classified as hate speech under South African law. This decision reaffirmed the robust commitment of the South African judiciary to freedom of expression, one of the bedrock rights enshrined in the post-apartheid Constitution. It recognises that a democratic society must allow space for emotional, political and even uncomfortable speech. But freedom of speech is not equal to freedom from consequence. Social cohesion under strain According to the 2024 Sasci, South Africa is treading a narrow ridge between cohesion and fragmentation. The index, which measures solidarity, fairness, trust, identity, civic participation and respect for institutions, paints a picture of partial resilience and underlying volatility. Solidarity sits at 61.3, indicating moderate willingness to care for others regardless of identity, but still vulnerable to racial and economic fault lines; Perception of Fairness, however, is a weak point, at 42.7, reflecting widespread public sentiment that South Africa's socioeconomic systems remain unjust; Intergroup Trust is alarmingly low – just 41% of black and white South Africans express some trust in one another; and Identification, that is, the sense of belonging to a shared national identity, is strong at 72.2, and is the glue that is holding the nation together. But this is susceptible to erosion under divisive rhetoric. These findings underscore a society still recovering from historical trauma, where the social glue is thin and brittle. Therefore, it is in this context that the use of a slogan such as 'Kill the Boer' must be evaluated, not in a courtroom, but in the court of public morality and nation-building. The political weaponisation of memory Chants such as 'Kill the Boer' are more than mere slogans. They are symbolic vessels, carrying the memory of past struggles, but also the potential to stir contemporary fears. So, with this in mind, it follows that the historical justification of the chant, which is rooted in anti-apartheid resistance, does not automatically make its current use, politically or socially, justifiable. In today's South Africa, invoking such slogans, especially during political rallies or in highly charged public platforms, is often a calculated act. It is a way of stoking populist sentiment, galvanising political bases and appealing to historical loyalties. But this comes at a steep cost: the polarisation of society, the re-traumatisation of communities and the erosion of hard-won intergroup solidarity. The Trump factor and global amplification The domestic controversy over 'Kill the Boer' took on international significance during South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's visit to the White House in May 2025. In a meeting with US President Donald Trump, the slogan once again found itself at the centre of a geopolitical flashpoint. Trump, resurrecting claims he first made in 2018, alleged that white South African farmers were the targets of a 'genocide'. He presented images purporting to show images of murdered white farmers. President Ramaphosa firmly rejected Trump's assertions, defending South Africa's constitutional land reform process and reaffirming the courts' dismissal of the 'white genocide' narrative. Yet, the damage had been done because Trump's global platform amplified fringe narratives and served to validate domestic fear-based politics within South Africa. This episode demonstrates how international rhetoric can dangerously reinforce internal social divisions, skew the global perception of South Africa's challenges and undermine the legitimacy of its reconciliation and land reform processes. Why legal speech can still be harmful Even if the courts are correct in finding that 'Kill the Boer' does not legally constitute hate speech, it is crucial to understand that legality does not equate to wisdom, unity or responsibility. In a country with such deep wounds, where race, land, identity and violence intersect in volatile ways, rhetoric matters. When political figures or public activists invoke this chant in the present day, they must consider: The historical trauma it reactivates for many white South Africans; The fear it induces among farming communities; The backlash it sparks from domestic and international actors; and Most importantly, the distrust and division it fuels between already polarised communities. Words, especially in political arenas, do not exist in a vacuum. They shape social perception, inform behaviour and influence whether people feel safe, respected and included. What leadership requires Leadership in a democratic society does not simply involve defending rights; it involves exercising them responsibly. South Africa's path forward depends not only on constitutional fidelity, but on a moral and social imagination capable of transcending inherited grievances. Political leaders and public influencers must ask: Does this speech unify or divide? Does it heal or harm? The question is no longer about what is legal, but what is nation-building. This is by no means a call for censorship. It is a call for ethical and moral restraint and for choosing reconciliation over rhetoric. And for choosing unity over provocation. It is possible to honour the past without weaponising it. It is possible to demand justice without alienating communities. It is possible to seek equity without amplifying enmity. Conclusion: The test of nationhood South Africa's journey from apartheid to democracy is often lauded as a global symbol of reconciliation. But symbols can become brittle. The Sasci's data tell us that the social cement is cracking and the slogan controversy is one fault line among many. If left unaddressed, such fissures can widen into fractures. The Constitutional Court has spoken on what the law allows. Now the burden falls to civil society, political leaders and ordinary citizens to determine what wisdom, justice and reconciliation demand. In a country where speech has the power to harm or to heal, the future will not be built by shouting into wounds, but by speaking into hope. DM
Daily Maverick
11 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Electronic death registration is a win-win for SA — let's make it happen
Several studies have flagged problems with South Africa's death registration processes. To address it, a critical first step is to replace our paper-based process with an electronic one. A recent report by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) highlights the underreporting of HIV in official mortality statistics. Official cause of death statistics are based on what doctors write on death notification forms. As part of the process of death registration, medical practitioners are required by law to provide information about the medical conditions resulting in each death. Multiple studies have identified concerns about the quality of the information provided by doctors and the Department of Health has been urged in a policy brief to address them as it clearly undermines the quality of data used by our government for health planning and resource allocation. The recently reported study found extensive underreporting of HIV as a cause of death. Only 28% of deaths that occurred in a national sample of public sector hospitals where the medical record had clear clinical indications of HIV, had HIV specified on their death notification form. Aside from ensuring that medical certification of the cause of death is part of the medical training curriculum, and that additional training is provided during internship periods, another key issue to address is that many doctors are reluctant to record HIV/Aids as a cause of death due to concerns about maintaining patient confidentiality. In 2014, a self-sealing section was added to protect information about cause of death on the death notification form, but this has clearly not had the desired effect. Following the deaths of at least 22 children from contaminated food in 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Department of Health would develop an electronic system for recording causes of death as one of several responses to the emergency. The move to an electronic system offers a strategic opportunity to address the challenge around confidentiality and promises a lot more. It allows for secure, institution-based data management that protects confidentiality, encourages accurate reporting and strengthens the integrity of vital statistics. Benefits of this digital transition will include: Improved data quality and confidentiality, encouraging accurate reporting of sensitive conditions like HIV/Aids; Automated validation checks, reducing certification errors at the point of data entry; Real-time access to mortality data, enabling rapid public health responses; and A platform for quality assurance and feedback, currently not possible in the paper-based system. Ultimately, moving away from a paper-based process of death registration will reduce the administrative burden and improve efficiency across the system. This presents a timely and valuable opportunity to collaborate across departments, including health, home affairs and Statistics South Africa, to modernise the country's civil registration and vital statistics system. We are at a pivotal moment for such coordinated policy action. Investing in a robust electronic system for cause-of-death certification will strengthen South Africa's public health planning, improve disease surveillance and increase accountability. The long-term returns – through faster, more reliable data – are substantial for both governance and health outcomes. It is a win-win. DM Dr Pam Groenewald and Professor Debbie Bradshaw are with the South African Medical Research Council's Burden of Disease Research Unit. Note: Spotlight previously reported on the issues discussed in this opinion piece. That reporting included the sentence: 'In the meantime, routine mortality data from Stats SA should clearly be taken with a pinch of salt.' That sentence may have been construed as reflecting Groenewald and the SAMRC's views. Groenewald has asked us to clarify that it does not. She points out that Stats SA is obligated to process the data it receives and the quality issues stem from what doctors report.
