OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 9.00pm.
AMENDMENTS to the Electoral Bill allowing voters who are not in possession of a green, bar-coded ID book to use a temporary certificate to register for next year’s general election were approved by the National Assembly on Thursday.
However, temporary certificat holders will still have to be issued with a green bar-coded identity document to be able to vote.
The National Assembly first approved the bill on September 1, but was forced to reconsider the draft legislation when the National Council of Provinces made amendments to it.
Also in Parliament the National Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved the Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Bill, whilch will allow more than 70000 residents of “coloured reserves” in the Cape and Free State to become legal owners of the land they occupy.
Introducing debate on the bill, Land Affairs Minister Derek Hanekom said this formed part of his department’s Tenure Reform Programme, and would have the effect of transferring 1,7 million hectares of state land to the residents.
The bill repealed the Rural Areas Act of 1987, which governed the administration of 23 “coloured reserve” areas created through colonisation and the role of mission churches.
“Residents are descendants of the indigenous people of South Africa, who managed to retain certain land rights despite the large scale dispossession programmes of previous governments,” Hanekom said.