Members of Parliament’s home affairs committee have approved the Immigration Amendment Bill with one objection from the Democratic Alliance.
The DA objected to the composition of the Immigration Advisory Board, saying the board was not representative of civil society organisations.
”It’s unacceptable that there are so many departmental officials,” DA MP Sandy Kalyan said during a vote on the Bill on Friday.
Committee chairperson Patrick Chauke accepted her objection, and moved on with the voting process.
He said the manner in which members of the committee had handled the Bill would allow officials from the Home Affairs Department to properly regulate immigration.
After the elections in April, President Thabo Mbeki said the Immigration Amendment Bill would be finalised within three months — ending on August 31.
The Bill will be debated in the National Assembly on August 19.
”We have done what is necessary for us…,” Chauke said after the Bill was approved.
However, he expressed concern about the ”people who are affected much by the laws that we pass still have a problem of getting to Parliament” to make submissions.
Most of the organisations which managed to make presentations before the committee had the resources to do research, he said.
The Bill seeks to make changes to certain sections of the 2002 Immigration Act which was hurriedly passed through Parliament in 2003.
In terms of the Bill, the Immigration Advisory Board will no longer be in a position to review the decision of the minister of home affairs.
It will comprise 13 government officials, one person from labour, one from business and up to five persons appointed by the minister on the basis of their expertise on immigration.
The 2002 Immigration Act states that 10 government officials will be on the board, up to five persons from civil society — including labour and business — and four others appointed on the basis of their expertise. – Sapa