Marianne Merten
The much-delayed immigration Bill a political sticking point between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party has finally been set down for debate in Parliament.
The date May 8 was set this week after Speaker Frene Ginwala intervened, summoning home affairs committee chairperson Aubrey Mokoena to explain why the Bill could not be finalised before next week’s recess.
Mokoena is now under pressure to call a special meeting of the committee to finalise the programme to wrap-up work on the Bill before Tuesday. Parliament’s programming committee will then vet the schedule.
New immigration laws must be enacted before June when several sections of the Aliens Control Act become invalid. Two Constitutional Court judgements in 2000 and last year gave Parliament until June to correct the unconstitutional sections those dealing with work permits for foreigners married to South Africans and the extension of temporary residence permits.
In the making for five years, the Bill is aimed at redressing South Africa’s skills shortage. Many of the snags since the Bill was tabled in Parliament last June are attributed to Mokoena.
Last month Ginwala said the Bill would be through the committee this term. But at Tuesday’s home affairs committee meeting Mokoena dismissed March 20 as a deadline: “Let’s not even talk about that.”
At Wednesday’s meeting the ANC moved swiftly to avoid further criticism of filibustering by Mokoena. It reiterated its commitment to passing the Bill, saying: “We are satisfied that the chairperson, comrade Aubrey Mokoena, appreciates the urgency of this work.”
As opposition parties relented on their calls for Mokoena’s replacement, the ANC proposed the committee sit through the recess to meet the new deadline. And Mokoena revealed the proposed 10 days of briefings from April 15 essentially the same as last month’s ANC study group plan, including separate presentations by the home affairs minister, his deputy and the department.
It remains unclear whether a planned study group tour early next month will go ahead. The group wants to probe border controls in Swaziland and Lesotho, port controls at Durban and Port Elizabeth and corruption claims at a mineworker recruitment office in Welkom.
During Tuesday’s home affairs committee meeting, Mokoena rejected an opposition party proposal that the trip be cancelled, saying letters to arrange the visits had already been sent.
Most of the discussions on Tuesday revolved around meeting the June 2 Constitutional Court deadline and securing briefings from the minister and other committee chairpersons.
Mokoena’s urged that “what we must do now is to move at top speed as politicians”, but also warned against “zealous haste” that may tie up the home affairs minister in the courts.
The aim is to get in place “a new credible Bill”, but not “on a skop, skiet and donner basis”. Previous laws were not perfect and “then they boomerang and there’s egg on the face. We do not want that or to embarrass our minister and president,” Mokoena said.