Gaye Davis
TENSIONS have been rising since Leader of the House, Trade and Industry Minister Trevor Manuel, read the riot act to state law advisers over the legislative
He went after the law advisers — responsible for vetting Bills before they go to Parliament — in a bid to speed up the processing of major legislation.
Disgruntled law advisers hit back this week, saying they were drowning in a flood of Bills which had arrived from state departments “very late” and often imperfect, and warned that the quality of legislation being produced was being put in jeopardy.
Sources said Manuel’s intervention was sparked by a report from the law advisers which said it was “impossible” to certify certain major Bills, including the new Education Policy Bill, the Labour Relations Bill and the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Bill.
Interviewed on Thursday, Manuel said while he had sympathy for the law advisers, it had been “necessary to define new terms in the relationship with the state law advisers”.
“It would be inappropriate for them to put the certification of a Bill on the back burner because it is, from their viewpoint, too complex. It would be more helpful if they indicated what the points of difference are and allowed departments or the Cabinet to focus on these areas of difficulty.”
An adviser blamed Cabinet for the last-minute deluge of Bills. “We received 43 bills before May 31 and 20 came in during that month alone. Since June 1 another 49 bills have arrived.
“In the first half of this session, 36 Bills were finished and enacted. Now, in the last weeks of this session, they want to do 44. It’s impossible.
“We’re used to pressure at the end of a session, but this is ridiculous.”
Government sources said one problem was that departmental law drafters had to draft major legislation focused on transformation. The drafters came from the “old order” and were not always able to deliver what was required.
Dickensian work practices also contribute to delays. The section’s eight lawyers make corrections by hand: they have no computers. Fresh versions are produced by typists and must then be proof-read. “It’s incredibly time-consuming,” said a law adviser.
The Labour Relations Bill “arrived last week” and had to be translated into Afrikaans. “That alone would take more than a week.”
Minister of Justice Dullah Omar said: “The state law advisers are doing everything they can to keep up with a very heavy load. There are certainly no deliberate