Parliament faces a gruelling year, with a slew of controversial but important delivery-orientated measures on its lawmaking agenda.
On the security front, the long-delayed Anti-Terrorism Bill will finally go before the House, two-and-a-half years after a first draft by police lawyers controversially provided for apartheid-style 14-day detention. The provision has now been dropped.
Many South Africans will react strongly to the legislative review of the 1957 Sexual Offences Act, which could see at least a partial decriminalisation of adult prostitution. A draft Bill is likely around mid-year.
Financial institutions are anxiously awaiting the revised Community
Reinvestment Bill, expected before Parliament in the next few months. Last year’s draft was fiercely opposed by the banking industry for setting a minimum number of home loans to low-income earners under threat of R500 000 fines for failing to meet targets.
The Bill is being finalised after discussions between the Ministry of Housing, banking representatives and other interests late last year. Amendments are understood to include options for banks to consider in lending into the low-income market. The government insists a statutory private sector role is non-negotiable.
Parliament’s focus will again fall on the Municipal Finance Management Bill, after MPs spent much time last year trying to coordinate the national Treasury and the local government department.
Under the Bill, the national and provincial governments are empowered to intervene in financially troubled municipalities. Councils are required to implement strict control measures, already in force at national and provincial level; draw up and stick to annual budgets; and implement financial planning over a three-year cycle.
The background to the Bill is the mounting crisis over municipal finances, with accumulated debt since 1994 standing at R27-billion. Local government operating expenditure stands at R57,7-billion.
It is expected that the transfers from the national fiscus to local government will increase significantly when Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel announces his Budget on February 26.
Traditional leaders, unsettled last year by the draft White Paper seen as a move to weaken their governance role, are likely to step up their resistance to the Communal Land Rights Bill.
Key social delivery legislation before Parliament also includes the Child Justice Bill, aimed at regulating the position of those under 18 entangled with the criminal justice system.
The Bill was held over from last year’s parliamentary session by a justice committee already swamped with 10 pieces of legislation.
The Bill aims to establish one-stop justice centres, to ensure the dignity and safety of children throughout the legal process, and that they are only jailed while awaiting trial as a last resort. The Bill also stipulates that children under 10 years of age cannot be held criminally responsible.
Another crucial piece of children’s legislation is a new child-care regimen expected to be submitted to Parliament by the Social Development Ministry. In the making for almost eight years, this legislation aims to coordinate various laws on child welfare, ease adoption procedures and deal with child prostitution.
Social development ministry legislation designed to protect the elderly from abuse is at an advanced stage. It stems from a commission of inquiry in April last year, which recommended that the rights of the elderly and their protection from abuse should be set down in law.