together we can
The RICA what?
Original RICA Act & RICA Act Amendment both in PDF format
Government: Do not question, do not pass comment just register your cellphone number!
SA Citizen: What is this for and does this not contravene the constitution, the highest law of the land. And how is it supposed to work anyway.
Gov: Register or else face the consequences. It does not contravene the constitution cause we wrote it and we care about you.
I personally will not be RICA’d, just as I’m not FICA’d. Seems that there are similarities to Apartheid (that thing that we hate without really understanding why, and therefore repeat under other names aka, BEE & BBBEE). Everyone obey, don’t question or poke fun at and by the way “it will cost you” financially (who do you think is paying, government, Vodacom, MTN – where did they get the money from – take your finger and point to self) and so called civil liberties.
RICA – The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act or more accurately the RICPCRI Act.
The one minor flaw in this immense infringement on the constitution and every South African’s right to “privacy”, is that by definition “criminals” do not follow the law.
The second is that they make their livelihood from dodging the law’s, governments think will stop them. In fact they probably make more money the more idiotic laws are put in place.
Now the government of the day and their cronies decide to dump the rest of the South African law abiding population in the shit by making them responsible and mucking with our rights.
Who’s footing the bill by the way?! Not the big companies because they will just add it on to your next bill in some form.
It astounds me that large corporations that constantly advertise the fact that they exist only to serve you “the public” accept this slap in the “constitutional face” without so much as a “excuse me!”. Makes me wonder if it makes more money screwing the public than looking out for them.
Yes, I’m talking about Vodacom, MTN, Cell-C, Virgin and any others that come to your mind who offer empty promises, for a price of course.
Virgin, I would have expected to jump into the fray and make at least a bit of a fuss as Richard often does against the establishment.
If I was a criminal
I would steal a cellphone to use in a crime. Fortunately the “RICA Act” will mean that the poor sap I stole the phone from will get blamed/bothered. [Score: Criminals 1 - RICA 0]
Big Brother’s watching over you, out for you
Yeah, right, pull the other one. I don’t accept the notion that I must give up my liberties for greater social security. Funny how they are part of the problem, unemployment, inflation, hikes in pricing of essential goods which pushes people into crime and then they spend more on trying to stamp the crime out. [Makes them look like they are the good guys and actually doing something about the situation.]
To the cellphone companies
Can you explain…
Remember
That FICA thing. Where the government basically said FICA to your rights. Heard much about it lately? Seen a drop in the crime it was going to put “paid” to?
Statements that seem to apply
- Guilty until proven innocent – supposedly to assist in capturing those that don’t conform
- Bullshit baffles brains – if the average South African can understand the Act in full form I’ll eat, said Act. How can this be Democratic if you need to have studied law to unravel rules that supposedly apply to you.
Will RICA Fail or Succeed
As far as I am concerned it has already failed. Failed to understand that
- Crooks by definition, don’t obey laws
- Free-flowing communication’s benefits far outweigh the negatives
- You cannot legislate Freedom or stop things by making them illegal, remember prohibition
- Police, politicians are not looking for an ultimate solution because it would do them out of a job
- The above are also often part of the problem/corruption
Quotes from other sources on the web
RICA – conceived by idiots, implemented by idiots and operated by idiots.
I was RICA‘d
As EltherZA wrote:
Things that can go wrong list:
- Someone registers your number accidentally under their name and they are unable to help you in this situation
- More phones will be stolen for the sim card to be used in crimes
- They have to do over 40 Million sims in 18 months, thats about 80 000 a day, thats about 5 per second… starting now but how many will leave it to the last month?
- Fake registering
- Corrupt registering
- 6. Buying a sim card from zimbabwe and using MTNs one rate over africa to do crimes (hey, slightly more expensive, but since when does that matter when you’re stealing a R30 000 tv right?)
7. Reselling of ‘registered’ sims
8. What happens if you register, but for some reason you arent added to the database and your sim is killed off, can you still re-activate it later?
9. How much would supporting this cost? register at R1 [for someones time] is already costing someone R40 000 000? Also, to maintain the database, ensure it’s secure, support etc etc.
10. What stops Vodacom/MTN/Cellc from double capturing the details (when you register at a shop, they add it to their database as well as the secure national one) and use location data, personal details to target marketing to you?
From MyBroadband
Why not simply cal them RICA Centre’s:
Centre’s for Reappraisal Intergration Classification and AssesmentEveryone gets a RICA card stating they are are compliant citizens, this card must be shown when buying airtime, or the number punched in when logging on to the WWW. It must be entered into your cell, and is tagged to every sms you send.
The card also provides the folowing info:
Race
Religion (lets throw in different colours for those)
Political Affiliations
Blood Type
Criminal Record
School Record
etc EtcNaturally you will not be allowed as a good RICA citizen to talk or communicate with anybody who is not RICA certified.
Lets all help Big Brother Nanny State in the removal of another of our freedoms , the right to privacy, the right to talk or communicate without being listened into, monitored and recorded.
Definitions
criminal
• noun a person who has committed a crime.
• adjective 1 relating to or constituting a crime. 2 informal deplorable and shocking.
— DERIVATIVES criminality noun criminally adverb.
crime
• noun 1 an offence against an individual or the state which is punishable by law. 2 such actions collectively. 3 informal something shameful or deplorable.
— ORIGIN Latin crimen ‘judgement, offence’.
offence
(US offense)
• noun 1 an illegal act; a breach of a law or rule. 2 resentment or hurt. 3 the action of making a military attack. 4 N. Amer. the attacking team in a sport.
law
• noun 1 a rule or system of rules recognized by a country or community as regulating the actions of its members and enforced by the imposition of penalties. 2 such rules as a subject of study or as the basis of the legal profession. 3 statute law and the common law. 4 a statement of fact to the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present. 5 a rule defining correct procedure or behaviour in a sport. 6 something having binding force or effect: his word was law. 7 (the law) informal the police.
— PHRASES be a law unto oneself behave in an unconventional or unpredictable manner. lay down the law issue instructions in an authoritative or dogmatic way. take the law into one’s own hands illegally or violently punish someone according to one’s own ideas of justice.
— ORIGIN Old Norse, ‘something laid down or fixed’; related to LAY1.
Want to see if you are registered.
Vodacom – SMS the word RICA to 31050 (apparently free)
Interesting Links
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about 6 months ago
Dude, just the advertising to bring this new act to the public’s attention is going to cost gazillions.
And now (thanks to the RICA act) you’re required to give your personal information to a private company, who will DEFINITELY add that to their marketing database (I would if I made my money from selling people’s contact info).
And then it will be YOUR problem trying to get them to remove that info from their database (and all the companies who already bought your info). You’ll have to threaten legal action based on the provisions of the ECT act. But that seldom helps, because if they play hardball, you’ll have to pay the legal fees from your own (already empty) pocket first.
I can just imagine the reception you’ll get if you go to your local police station to lay a charge against a company, for providing your name and address to a third party without your consent. Wonder how long they’ll take to lose that docket – if you ever get it recorded? I mean, you must be CRAZY wasting the police’s time with that, right?
I hear they’re sending rape victims away without recording a charge – to make the crime stats look better. So, how are they going to act if it is “only” your rights being raped?
I predict that the only government agency that will ever make proper use of the information recorded due to the RICA act, will be SARS. I wonder if they’ll be able to dock your pre-paid cellphone balance in the same way they can simply empty your bank account, if they feel like it. I don’t think it is that far-fetched an idea.
about 6 months ago
Thaks for your input nafi
I’ll have to add those points to my disgust. Who’s watching the watcher’s or monitoring the monitor’s? The greatest crime here is the fleecing (raping as you put it) of the South African people once again. I’d like your comments feedback on no-vote.co.za
about 4 months ago
I was sitting outside the school one day waiting to pick my daughter up and reading the RICA pamphlet about what information is required to register. It occurred to me as I watched all the kids reach for their cell phones from school bags as if in a high noon draw as soon as they emerged from the gate, that one of the requirements is proof of physical address.
The Pamphlet states:
One physical address. You will need to show any document that includes your name and residential address such as bank statement, municipal rates, cellphone or retail account (not older than 3 months), existing lease, rental or credit agreement, insurance policy, current TV or motor vehicle license.
I wondered how many of the thousands of children that carry cell phones today have any of the above proof of residence. This method of communication has become vital in our assurance of our childs whereabouts (via searchforme etc.) and emergency contact – trust me, we need it!
The next point states that if you live in an informal settlement you can provide a letter and/or affidavit from a school, church on an official letterhead or have school, church etc. official stamp.
And to add to that – how many children have got official ID documents in terms of either:
Green barcoded ID document
ID Card
Temporary ID certificate or
Passport
In my opinion the whole idea is ill-conceived and was probably birthed during a drunken game of “truth, dare or promise” at one of the ministers’ parties funded by tax payers…
about 4 months ago
Hi Phil
Thanks for your perspective. I’d forgotten how many under 21’s there are who have cellphones and who probably commit heineous crimes daily, you know like, chatting to mates on MXit, taking pictures and generally showing off their new cellphone.
Ill conceived… or a brilliant and lucrative ploy?
“Fighting for peace, is like screwing for virginity.” Once again the government caught “screwing for virginity”.
Thanks, Grant
about 2 months ago
Hi there!
I’m new to all of this. Could you tell me what happens if I simply don’t register my sim?
about 2 months ago
Hi Fay, I’m not sure what penalties, if any are stipulated in the act. Personally I’m not registering and I’m sure they will make it clearer as to penalties, if any, closer to the deadlines. So I don’t see any harm in not registering unless you absolutely need a new phone or are on contract.
about 2 months ago
Thank you Grant.
I find this site to be most informative with regards to the RICA act. You are highlighting most of the concerns I had as soon as I came to know of it. This whole thing is something I am definitely not comfortable with. I do see how it could be beneficial in curbing crime, but in my view the cons far outweigh the pros and as such, couldn’t government conceive of a better plan, perhaps one that doesn’t violate our privacy? It seems to me that our safety and security could also be at stake here, because I don’t think it would be to difficult for criminal elements who have the know how to access individual persons’ details, which would include home addresses and other information that could help them to find lucrative targets for their criminal activities.
Anyway, could you please also tell me when exactly the deadline is? I’ve been browsing other sites but I can’t seem to find out when it is.
Thanks again.
about 2 months ago
31.12.2010
about 1 month ago
I just wanted to say thank you, I have just spent the past 2 hours searching for information regarding RICA. After going to a Vodacom outlet with my mother yesterday, and asking a series of questions about RICA the only answer which I received was if I don’t register I won’t be able to use a cellphone (which is fine, just go old school back to landlines & pay phones). After I asked them “Isn’t this against Human Rights?” I just got a blank stare, and my question was avoided. You would think you had a right to know what the RICA act actually is!! Anyway back to my search for a copy of the information act. If you have any good sites you think would make for good reading, please let me know.
Thanks Again
Kind Regards
about 1 month ago
I thought I was the only one thinking like this. I just wish the majority of the country can read this info. This RICA is advanced apartheid. We are now carrying a pass that has your location coordinates. The Devils plan; First have them Rica, then have them use the cell phone for everything (Banking, communication, entertainment..etc.) after that make phones smaller and smaller until they inject chips in themselves and walla! it’s the end of human kind.
about 1 month ago
Hi KayT, I just uploaded the Act and the Amendment. Thanks for your comments. Blank stares from blank minds, great for big brother to manipulate. If you read the entire Act please post your opinion/views. From what I’ve read it’s written in terms, I can only presume are designed to confuse, how about laws that “the people” can understand, i.e. in plain english or is a politician incapable of being that direct. cheers, Grant
about 1 month ago
What you are doing is thinking, most other’s are just following instructions. Most don’t seem to even ask “why?”.
Ooohhh can I have my chip injected pleeeasssee! [That was sarcasm for those in any doubt.]
about 1 month ago
“official letterhead or have school, church etc. official stamp.”
This should be easy enough to get, if push comes to shove and I HAVE to rica to have a cell phone I’ll just get my local (or the one across town) school/church to give me a letterhead and I’ll do the rest.
about 1 month ago
I’ve been thinking the same thing. Hopefully South Africans usual apathy means that few people actually register and RICA dies a natural death.
about 2 weeks ago
Your last comment fits with my thinking. I haven’t bothered up to now and really can’t see when I will bother.
I work in a couple of townships and it’ll be interesting to see how my friends in them get on with this. Most of them know little about it other than what they’ve seen on eTV and so far none of them have done anything about it.
May I be the first to write an obituary for RICA?
RICA – Killed by apathy – RIP
about 1 week ago
You got me chuckling with your obituary. I have to agree, politicians wasting money on projects that waste money and increase taxing, once again forcing people to get by through whatever means necessary.