South Africa National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO); Southern Africa NGO Network (SANGONeT); #NotInMyName; Independent Beneficiaries Forum; Ekurhuleni Civil Society Forum; NGO Workers Union of South Africa (NGOWUSA) and various civil society organizations and formations have joined forces under the name “UNITED CIVIL SOCIETY IN ACTION. The civil society movement calls upon all affected organizations to join them on a march to take place on Thursday, 5^th March 2020 to the offices of the Department of Trade and Industry, in Tshwane.
 
A memorandum containing concerns shall be handed to the Minister of Trade and Industry citing concerns regarding attackers of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) which will, in turn, affect the civil society negatively.
 
The DA’s shadow minister of Trade and Industry and a certain journalist are urging the minister to both fire the board of the NLC and put the NLC under Administration, on the basis of specific allegations of corruption.
 
This act shall consequently suspend operations within the NLC, thus affecting the civil society negatively;

• NGOs and Civil Society Organizations depend on funding from such agencies and the National Lotteries Commission;
• Halting operations from the NLC result in paralysis in Civil Society developmental; relief; and charity activities for the duration of – and even beyond – the administration process.

These attackers also demand that the NLC should publicize information of recipients of funding.

• Publicizing confidential information regarding funding disbursements and beneficiary details is not legal;
•  such sensitive information could jeopardize civil society organizations depending on funding from the National Lotteries Commission; According to PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT 2 OF 2000, Section 36

“Mandatory protection of commercial information of third party (1) Subject to subsection (2)”, the information officer of a public body must refuse a request for access to a record of the body if the record contains- (a) trade secrets of a third party; (b) financial, commercial, scientific or technical information, other than trade secrets, of a third party, the disclosure of which would be likely to cause harm to the commercial or financial interests of that third party;
 
It is believed that information utilized to attack the NLC is based on records of funding for specific organizations that received funding from the Commission. 
 
We, therefore, call all members of the Civil Society Movement to join us in the march to protect one of the agencies established to support civil society in the fight against poverty and deprivation of the previously disadvantaged society in our country.

Date:  5 March 2020
Time:  09h00
Meeting Point: BURGERS PARK
March Destination: 77 MEINTJIES STREET, SUNNYSIDE, PTA
 
For more information, contact; -
Themba: 082 490 7523
Dan Thabethe: 011 403 4935 or 066 460 5580 / dan@sangonet.org.za [2]