Africa-Press – South-Africa. There’s been strong opposition at public hearings in KwaZulu-Natal to a bill that will tighten tobacco regulations and for the first time, also regulate vaping.
But Parliament’s health committee chair, Sibongiseni Dhlomo, said it was also concerning that some of those who attended the meetings were allegedly promised money to object to the bill.
While it’s unclear how widespread this has been across the three meetings, Dhlomo said he would report the incident to Parliament.
The Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill aims to place greater restriction on smoking in public places, puts a ban on the sale of cigarettes through vending machines, insists on plain packaging and also regulates vaping.
Those who’ve objected to the bill in KwaZulu-Natal said that clamping down on the industry would lead to job losses, impact small-scale traders and allow illicit trade to flourish.
Dhlomo said he was approached by some participants after the Richards Bay hearing to be paid for rejecting the bill.
“I can’t tell out of those who opposed were actually paid. There are people who genuinely wanted to oppose because they believe it had to be opposed, but there were also those who were paid to do that. You can’t tell how many of those were there.”
Dhlomo said he took the unethical behaviour very seriously but it could not yet be determined whether it skewed the outcome of the hearings.
“I can’t quantify numbers. It did come up that there have been such instances. It may be two, it may be ten, it may be all one hundred, I don’t know, I don’t have figures.”
The committee is to extend its public hearings to a third meeting in the Free State and the Western Cape to even out the number of meetings held in each of the provinces.
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