“What is RICA? RICA is the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act. The customer registration section of the RICA, as set out by the South African Government requires everyone who has an active cellphone number or purchases a new Prepaid Starter Pack, to register their SIM cards from 1 July 2009.” Vodacom (and yes, that’s all the information you are given by Vodacom)
Now that I have your attention on what seems like useless information in actuality, I will try and dissimulate it. I find it interesting that they (and I am not talking about a proverbial ‘they’, but one that can be noted as being our ever so “reliable” government) have not worded the true nature of RICA.
What is RICA exactly? Well, that’s easy. Have you ever watched Big Brother? If so, then you know a little about the concepts brought about in the novel ‘1984’, in which citizens are constantly monitored. Though the intentions of RICA may be less dubious, and probably has good reasons for its inception, one is left with a bit of an odd feeling of being watched, or more accurately, listened to, from the privacy of what has now become the new standard of telecommunications.
What I have found most troubling is the way that RICA has been handled. It seems terribly shady, every mentioning of RICA seems to be laced with bureaucratic jargon that the average citizen is left baffled with, and never once have I seen any documentation that seems to outline in nice friendly language what RICA is actually for. Everyone seems to speculate that it is for national security reasons, or maybe for anti-terrorism (a term that seems to have become clichéd in modern society).
The CellC website states and I quote: “The aim of this legislation is to help law enforcement agencies to identify cellphone users and track criminals using cellphones for illegal activities”, the MTN website more or less states the same. Again, this is oddly unhelpful, the information is too sparse. Who regulates what, who, where and why? The MTN website states that “RICA is one of government’s key crime prevention initiatives towards making South Africa a safer place to live and work”. Interesting! Especially, when it comes down to crime and corruption within our government. Oh, but let’s not rush to any conclusions, since the information about RICA has been so forthcoming and insightful.
I totally abhor it when citizens of any country are left out of the loop of goings-on within their governments. Now that I have gone on my tangent of conspiracy theories, I am still left with some hope that it is not some plot to stifle all vestiges of free speech in the country, especially with the new Media bill that is slowly making its way into parliament that seems to stem from the current governments distaste for freedom of press (but let us not forget that this very same government had fought for this very right in the past).
The Media Tribunal Legislation is another one of my pet hates. Again, any Conspiracy Theorist would be having a field day about how the government is trying to slowly monitor everything that a person does, and that one day there might no longer be any privacy, or maybe a camera in every room of every house, looking at your every move. Sounds comforting, in a slightly perverse Orwellian kind of way. (“Hey look, house 543.”... “Oh yeah! Take it off! Take it off!”... “Pass the tissues!”)
It is sad that a party such as the ANC has now fallen into such disrepute, especially when one takes a look at its past. In many parts of South Africa, people are afraid of voting for another party, some even under the illusion (or possibility) of certain death if ever they were to vote for another into government. Many speculate that this is due to lack of education, and they are probably right.
Now you are probably wondering how I got so completely sidetracked and off topic. Well, I have not... yet. It all ties into the whole problem I have with RICA. How am I, as a citizen, supposed to trust a government that so far has not shown that it is looking after the best interests of its citizens?
It could be just me, but I’m going to go and make a foil hat. All this being watched by unknown government agencies seems too much like a bad made-for-television movie. The horror!
