Legislation will be put to the South African Parliament this year to ease the release of information from the National Population Registry to the private sector, says Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Buthelezi, who was briefing MPs serving on the National Assembly home affairs portfolio committee, said he had directed that “this latter piece of legislation be formulated” but because he was a democrat, “I am obviously very concerned about human rights protection and the right to privacy”.
But he added that he was also aware that “our National Population Registry is a unique and enormous asset which we need to make available not only to government but also to the private sector”.
The minister, flanked by his acting director general Ivan Lambinon and special adviser Mario Ambrosini, said it would be “an enabling tool for a variety of transactions”.
“This is a complex balancing of potentially conflicting interest; I have not yet seen the final Bill but I hope that together we will be able to find the correct balance and ensure the adequate degree of protection of the right to privacy while unleashing the potential of the Registry for economic growth and more secure economic transactions.” – I-Net Bridge