RICA registered with no address

Do I need privacy?

Today closed off the start of a brand new season of embarrassment. I just joined the ranks of mass who cast our votes in favour of surveillance legitimised. We will have connectivity at the cost of privacy.

You have to RICA or we disconnect your phone, beams the message from the ether. And I don't know what to believe in this crazy world. That does not sound like a reasonable message to me. It is tirranically imposed! I have no say in the matter and am completely deprived my privacy. Since I had to tell the enemy I may as well tell you this tale too.

Now feel this. In my shoes for a moment. It was new years eve when I received an SMS: "Please move out of my house." Nice way to start the year. Since then I have not found permanent accommodation for various reasons and excuses including these.
Once my telecommunications service was deprived me I queried their customer service with an embarrassing email along the lines of:
"Dear Vodacom, I am jobless and homeless and unfortunately cant afford any accommodation anywhere which leaves me without an address to use to RICA with. The potential penalties for fraud in this regard dissuades me from asking a friend or family member to pretend on my behalf. What do you suggest I do?"

To which they respond to rub it in even deeper "To register, you will need to produce your name, surname, ID number and your residential address."

To which I am compelled to get even deeper into my embarrassment with "My darling, I am a bum. I do not have an address. I sleep in the forest illegally. I have no desire to let the authorities know about this because they will come and kick me out"

Finally, me swallow my pride and off to the police station to report myself to them as a bum. Just so we have it officially.



I'm mortified. A taxi to the nearest place to RICA cost R30 there and will cost the same back. R1 to the kilometre is a great exchange. But I don't have it. So I hitch there with my affidavit, simcard, ID and thank goodness for generous Zulu people in cars who got me there soon enough.


The girl who helped me was wonderful about it all. "So you have come to get your pass? It used to be only for us, now everyone must have it. Hi, hi, hi..." I am at a loss for words and just smile at her.

After all this dreadful exposure, I want my privacy back please. I want both communication and privacy.

I owe you something brighter

We have to accept responsibility for our privacy. RICA, What a load of sh*t

The South African government's incompetence and inability to make sense of modern realities finds expression in this whole RICA mess they are so committed to. What a load of sh*t. As if it will amount to anything. DO you know what will happen? Innocent people will suffer just so they can justify their embarrassing position to their immediate environment. They will destroy more useful lives just to save face. So be careful.
Fortunately for anyone who cares about their privacy we recently hosted the world cup soccer and our opportunistic friends in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein and Capetown used the opportunity well to register a substantial amount of sim cards which are available in the streets at wonderfully cheap prices. That's the one lot. Then there is the masses of extremely poor people who are just too happy for the extra few pennies a RICA registration brings to them.
Fortunately we can also bargain on the absolute incompetence we have been subjected to for so many centuries from government. One can easily join a service provider like blackvpn.com and encrypt communications. Then simply Skype via the encrypted channel from your Android or Iphone, which accentuates the ridiculousness of it all. We have been using the VPN in any case for all the other great features it delivers and you can read more about that on their website.
I would like to encourage you to give the finger to the bullies and to support our dear friends who go to extremes to help us preserve some privacy and some human dignity. We have to accept responsibility for our privacy since the bullies with their control issues only grant themselves a right to privacy and no one else.
According to the UN internet access is a basic human right: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/06/internet-a-human-right of which I have just been deprived by the afore mentioned government and it's cronies.

RICA, No job, home, bank account and now no phone.

So I am not allowed a job in South Africa because I am a white man. This unfortunately leaves me pretty much homeless since I can not afford accommodation without a job. I am not allowed a bank account because I have no fixed address. And today my mobile phone was disconnected because I have no address. What does 'human right' mean? Where do we draw the line between personal private and herd? What comes next? Legal secrecy from government is being drafted as we speak. So they must know everything about me and I am allowed to know nothing about them. Perhaps not having a job, money and address disqualifies me from the human race?

The South African law like so many other places is a construct to widen the gap between rich and poor. Apparently the rich are safer with the poor further away.

And all I can do about it is to tell you about my interesting fate. Perhaps I should try to get to know these criminals myself. The argument for RICA is that they can use it to protect people from criminals by intercepting the calls. So big brother will now record all calls and process it electronically looking for certain patterns and probably arrest you before you can commit your crime. Do you feel safe now? Privacy is really over rated isn't it. Why don't we just broadcast everyone's calls? Most of our parliament members have been involved in some crime or other. So they are passing a law to protect other South Africans from themselves. Ha, ha, ha and they are doing the protecting. And most South Africans believe them! They condone it by participating! Just so they can keep on using their phones.

Do they realise the extent of their problem? That you may be fined up to R2 000 000 if your phone is stolen and they don't believe your reason for delay until reporting it. Failing that you may end up in prison for up to 10 years. You may also incur these penalties if you upgrade your phone!

Human beings, do you believe in the LAW? Have you lost it completely? It is an oppressive force abused by bullies and we desperately need a better way of dealing with our group to individual interaction. Give me a break please.

I am hanging on to idealism with teeth and nails hoping and praying that there is a human person somewhere in the other side. With a mind and heart. May I have the airtime that was on that balance returned to me please. I will need it in cash of course.