Pages

Showing posts with label Bill B6-2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill B6-2016. Show all posts

Monday 5 December 2016

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS BILL (B6-2016) - Open Letter to Parliament, Selling Our Heritage to the highest bidder?


INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS BILL (B6-2016) - Open Letter to Parliament, Selling Our Heritage to the highest bidder?



For Attention: Ms. Shanaaz Isaacs

I hereby wish to notify you of my objection to the PROTECTION, PROMOTION, DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS BILL (B6-2016) in its present form.

During the drafting of this Bill, no participation that I know of was invited by the authors, and is clearly reflected in the wording and spirit of the Bill.

South Africa has more than 200,000 traditional healers of all races, tribes, modalities and social and financial standing that at present are the custodians of Indigenous Knowledge as described in this Bill. The uncertainty caused by the CAMs regulations promulgated in 2013 has already negatively impacted the industry, with these new proposals just adding to the situation.

At present the information is free to use for any person that has that knowledge, with many a lay person also having access to it and actively using it to improve their health or treat minor disease. These new proposed laws will take that freedom from the common man as well as the majority of practitioners, as, according to the wording of the Bill, only one legal entity will be able to claim ownership to such knowledge that may be in the public domain. So who will be the best to licence as owner of this knowledge? Will it be first come first served, or will it be the one willing to pay the highest price? What remedy will those have that have been using this free knowledge for generations, but now have to pay a licence fee for something they have used for generations?

As we do not know what the financial impact of the process may be, the potential exists that this process will be unaffordable, or the process might be inaccessible to those that stand to gain or lose by it, placing Government in the default position of ownership after 12 months.
It is this last fact that is of most concern as recent history has shown that severe malpractice may be possible in this knowledge being sold to the highest bidder, with the accompanying possibility of corruption. Taking this in conjunction with the drive of pharmaceutical companies in obtaining new compounds for drugs, and willing to commit techno piracy, this opens the field for immense corruption. As we all have seen in recent international civil and criminal courts, pharmaceutical companies put profits before people.

Africa and its people have suffered severe wrongs from being Colonized, and these laws will place our heritage in the position where it can also be Colonized for a huge fee, with the accompanying loss in use, or used at a price that supports Colonialism.

The South African Government has recently opened up a new facility that promotes Chinese Traditional Medicines under an International Agreement with China, which will result in the opening of several such centres across the country and a hospital in the Western Cape if my knowledge is correct. In my opinion this is the initiative that Africa and South Africa needs to follow. The Chinese actively encourage the development and expansion of their own traditional medicinal knowledge in a national sense, then actively support the export of the knowledge, products and facilities. An example of this is mentioned in the opening of the facilities in South Africa, as well as assisting their practitioners and products to be registered in Australia. The commercial value in trade of Chinese medicines in 2012 was estimated to be $83 Billion, and 2015 it reached $90 Billion. These numbers are based on the export of 600 base plants and 240,000 tons of exports.

The Potential of South African Herbal Medicines as Export Product
South Africa alone has over 30,000 flowering plant species of which many are used for medicinal purposes. Eight plant species have shown potential to treat high blood pressure. In our fresh water eco systems alone, 230 traditional medicinal plants have been listed. It is estimated that the population of South Africa uses 700,000 tons of herbal products.

If these resources can be explored in a sustainable way, and the people of South Africa are encouraged to participate in a constructive manner, the potential exists for the export value of our own Traditional Knowledge in medicines to exceed that of Chinese medicine, instead of selling the rights to foreigners or companies. In this manner all South African can benefit.

The knowledge of using natural sources and plants for medicinal purposes has been around as long as man has been walking the earth, and should not be subjected to ownership by anyone, or be patentable by anyone. This information should stay open source as this was given to us by nature and our Creator to use, and no government, corporation or legal entity should have the power to own it.

Kind regards

Ronald Gibson
05.12.2016




Tuesday 29 November 2016

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS BILL (B6-2016) - Comments open until 15 December 2016

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS BILL (B6-2016)


Ronald Gibson: So for those in the Natural Health trade that has that secret recipe or formula that you use in creating your products, or just use what is seen as general knowledge and good sense taken from indigenous and international natural health practices, now is the time to make your voice heard. If you are complacent and do not think this will come to pass or affect you, think again. Remember the ignored warnings regarding the declaring of CAMs products and modalities as medicines that fell on deaf ears, or elicited responses of conspiracy theory or plain denial that it will ever happen, with those same deniers now still sitting, waiting for others to fix the dilemma that could have been prevented? Now is the time to stand up and be counted.

Traditional & Natural Health Alliance
LEGISLATIVE NOTICE - The Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology invites you to submit written comments on the Protection, Promotion, Development and Management of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Bill [B6-2016]
The Bill seeks to:
 provide for the protection, promotion, development and management of indigenous knowledge systems;
 provide for the establishment and functions of the National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office;
 provide for the management of rights of indigenous knowledge holders; to provide for the establishment and functions of the Advisory Panel on indigenous knowledge systems;
 provide for access and conditions of access to knowledge of indigenous and local communities;
 provide for the registration, accreditation and certification of indigenous knowledge practitioners;
 provide for the facilitation and coordination of indigenous knowledge systems-based innovation;
Comments can be emailed to Ms. Shanaaz Isaacs at shisaacs@parliament.gov.za by no later than Thursday, 15 December 2016.
Enquiries can be directed to Ms. Shanaaz Isaacs on tel (021) 403 3763 or cell 083 709 8536
Issued by Ms L Maseko, MP, Acting Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Science nd Technology.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx