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Same-sex couples face new hitch
22/08/2006 11:53 - (SA)
Corrinne Louw
Durban - In just four months time, same-sex marriages will be legal in South Africa, but government departments may not be ready in time to process the marriage licences.
At the moment, the computer systems at the department of home affairs are programmed to capture the registration of marriages according to gender. This means attempts to enter the names of same-sex couples will be rejected by systems throughout the country from the onset.
"There is no way that the departments are going to be ready for this," said Crystal Cambanis who runs a Gauteng law firm that focuses on gay rights.
South Africa's constitutional court passed a ruling last year to legalise same-sex marriages and ordered parliament to draft new legislation within a year. The new legislation takes effect on December 1.
Cambanis wonders whether civil servants will be open-minded about the new law.
"Many of the people who work in departments like home affairs have strong religious convictions and may have objections to processing the marriage on these grounds," she explained.
No reason to panic
The department of home affairs in Durban was unable to answer whether their computers were currently being reconfigured to process same sex-marriages.
Attempts to book a same-sex marriage for December 4 were met with the following response: "No, you cannot book now because our system will not be able to capture your names because you are a female wanting to marry a female."
So what does one do?
"I don't know my dear," said the official. "We are going to have to wait for instructions from our head office."
A call to the head office in Pretoria elicited the same response. An official in the marriage department said: "There is nothing we can do to help you now. All our systems are linked. They (home affairs Durban) cannot give you a booking just like we can't because our systems are linked and nothing has been done to facilitate this."
Organisations representing same-sex couples say while the ruling could be seen as a victory, they too are doubtful as to whether the message had trickled down to the various departments.
"Are marriage officers aware of this new law?" asked manager of the Lesbian and Gay Community Health Centre in Durban, Nonhlanhla Mkhize.
Glenn de Swardt from the Triangle Project, a gay rights activist group, said: "Don't hold your breath and wait for the State machines to work. "The home affairs department is battling to cope with the current backlog, gay marriages are not going to be important to them. "At one time they ran out of paper, so that should give you a clear indication of how ready they are going to be to deal with same sex marriages."
Spokesperson for home affairs, Mantshele Tau, said: "The department is working on tightening up its system. We are confident that when the deadline comes we will be ready to process the marriages. "There is no need for people to to panic about this."
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