Legislation tabled in Parliament on Friday provides for a wider definition of “victim” in terms of the existing Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act.
Notice that the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Amendment Bill has been tabled in Parliament was given in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports released on Friday.
In terms of the memorandum to the Bill, in the process of reparation and rehabilitation emanating from the truth commission’s report, “special emphasis will be placed on the rehabilitation of communities” who have suffered gross human rights abuses.
“It will mainly be effected by funds generated by government and donations by the private sector,” it noted.
“In order to provide for effective control, payment for purposes of particular projects will have to be channeled through the President’s Fund established in terms of … the TRC Act”.
The current wording of the relevant section of the act only requires payments from the fund to be made “to victims by way of reparation in terms of regulations made by the president”. The definition is not seen as broad enough to include the community at large.
Recently the Parliament joint committee looking into the issue of reparations approved a once-off grant of R30 000 in final reparations to about 22 000 apartheid victims — as proposed by President Thabo Mbeki.
The Bill will be piloted through Parliament by Justice Minister Penuell Maduna, but his spokesperson Paul Setsetse was not immediately available for comment. – I-Net Bridge