PRIORITISATION OF BILLS IN PARLIAMENT AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

5 February 2014

The African National Congress in Parliamemt has taken note of the huge parliamentary workload which the institution has to process in the next few months before the expiry of the current five-year term of parliament. In terms of the Constitution, the current term of Parliament is set to end ahead of the 2014 national elections. The workload confronting the institution includes committee oversights, constituency programmes, adoption of committee reports, debates on the state of the nation address and the budget, and finalisation and adoption of Bills.

Currently, there are 24 Bills before the National Assembly (NA) and 18 currently before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) - which is a total of 42 Bills the institution must pass before the elections. Our view is that all these Bills are important and therefore the institution should spare neither strength nor effort in ensuring they are processed qualitatively and thoroughly to ensure that they are converted into laws within the stipulated period. We are however alive to the possibility that not all these Bills may be passed in the next few remaining months of parliament.

We have therefore sought to prioritise the following Bills, which we believe Parliament should give special attention to ensure they are passed into laws. In terms of the rules of Parliament, Bills that are not passed within the current term of Parliament may be resuscitated in the next parliamentary term. This will be done for those Bills that might not be passed during this term.

In determining priority Bills, we have looked at criteria such as complexity, contentiousness, technicality, effect on provinces, and requirement for exhaustive consultation. 

Prioritised Bills:

1. Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill of 2014

The Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994 with a view to extend the date for lodging a claim for restitution to 31 December 2018 (a five year extension). The original Act provided that a claim for restitution of rights in land must be lodged no later than 31 December 1998. Due to the challenge encountered in the application of the restitution programmes, this provision excluded certain categories of claimants such as those who could not lodge claims by cut-off date of 31 December 1998 and those whose land was dispossessed before 1913. The Bill, amongst others, also aims to criminalise lodgment of fraudulent claims and further regulate the appointments of judges of the Land Claims Court.

2. Rental Housing Amendmend Bill of 2013

The Rental Housing Amendmend Bill amends the Rental Housing Amendment Act of 2007 to clearly define the rights and obligations of both tenants and landlords. The Bill will also ensure that rental agreements entered into between landlords and tenants are made in writing. Given that certain provinces and municipalities had not established Rental Housing Tribunals, whose responsibility is to settle landlord-tenants disputes, the Bill obligates MECs to establish these tribunals. Local municipalities are also required to have in place Rental Housing Information Offices to ensure that the public is informed of their rental rights and obligations. The Bill also provides for appeal process for an aggrieved party (tenant or landlord) who is not satisfied with the outcome of the Tribunal. This Bill will be processed in terms of Section 76 of the Constitution.

3. Labour Relations Amendment Bill of 2012

This Bill, which is a product of extensive consultations at Nedlac by all social partners, seeks to amend the Labour Relations Act of 1995 to, amongst others, bring the legislation in line with the international labour standards. It will ensure that labour legislation gives effect fundamental constitutional rights such as right to fair labour practices and protect workers against unfair discrimination. The Bill will protect vulnerable categories of workers and ensure they are employed in decent working conditions. 

4. Customs Control Bill of 2013

The Customs Control Bill is intended to replace certain provisions of the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 relating to customs control of all means of transport, goods and persons entering or leaving South Africa. The Bills aims to ensure that taxes imposed by various other laws on imported or exported goods are collected and that various other laws regulating imports and exports of goods are complied with. To ensure effective implementation of customs control, the Bill provides for elaborate systems for customs processing of goods at places of entry and exit such as seaports, airports and land border posts. 

5. Customs Duty Bill of 2013

The Customs Duty Bill is intended to replace certain provisions of the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 which relates to the imposition and collection of imports and export duties. The Bill primarily aims to provide for the levying, payment and recovery of import and export duties on goods imported or exported from South Africa. The Bill will be dealt with in terms of Section 77 of the Constitution.

6. Customs and Excise Amendment Bill of 2013

The Customs and Excise Amendment Bill seeks to amend the provisions of the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 and to remove from the Act all the provisions that have now been incorporated into both the Customs Controll Bill and the Customs Duty Bill. Essentially, because the Customs and Excise Amendment Act of 1964 strongly reflected rigidity reminiscent of the apartheid era controls, which are unsuitable to the current modern control systems, it has been split into both the Customs Controll Bill and the Customs Duty Bill. The Customs and Excise Amendment Act of 1964 will for now be retained in an amended form for the continued administration of excise duties and relevant levies until it is completely replaced with a new law in future (i.e. Excise Duty Bill).

7. South African Language Practitioners' Council Bill of 2013

The South African Language Practitioners' Council Bill seeks to establishe the Council for the protection and promotion of language practice in South Africa. It will regulate language practice and exercise control over the accreditation and registration of language practioners. The Bill provide rules for governing the conduct of language practioners and monitoring of compliance. 

8. Science and Technology Laws Amendment Bill of 2013

The Science and Technology Laws Amendment Bill aims to streamline and harmonise the process of nominations and appointments of board members of public entities reporting to the Minister of Science and Technology. The streamlining process will improve efficiency in the appointment process and governance of the boards of these entities.

Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, February 5 2014

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