Key points of the West Rand – what and where are they?
Did you know that the West Rand also has some national key points? We find out more about key points and their significance.
National key points are back in the spotlight, long after the official list of such areas was released in January 2015.
A national key point is any building or site that is protected by the National Key Point Act 102 of 1980, which permits the Minster of Police to declare and protect sites that are of national strategic importance.
Earlier this month, news reports claimed that taking photos outside Nkandla would now be a criminal offence, because Nkandla, which is the residence of the South African President, Jacob Zuma, has now been declared a national key point.
According to Krugersdorp Police spokesperson, Sergeant Tshepiso Mashale, the West Rand is home to two of the more than 70 key points in South Africa.
She confirmed that the Hartebeesthoek Earth Station and the Transnet Pipeline Tarlton Distribution Depot are the West Rand’s key points.
Although the Act was originally passed in an attempt to protect the government from sabotage, the Right To Know campaign is unhappy about how it is being used and is still campaigning to have it scrapped.
“We are opposed to anything that promotes secrecy and keeps information from the community. Even though there are moves afoot to replace it with the draft ‘Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill’, which Cabinet has published for public comment, the draft bill makes things worse and not better, as it promotes the withholding of information from the community and uses security as an excuse for doing so,” said Murray Hunter, spokesperson for the campaign.
According to Murray, the number of key points has increased by 60 per cent in the last six years, which makes him wonder if the Act is used for the right reasons or abused to protect the government.
“Companies can refuse to give information to their communities during disputes by citing the Act, and protest action on some properties can be stopped if the company is a national key point,” he told the News.
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