Report of the Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government on the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Bill [B 62 - 2001] (National Assembly - sec 75), dated 13 March 2002:

The Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government, having considered the subject of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Bill [B 62 - 2001] (National Assembly - sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B 62A - 2001].

The Committee further reports as follows:

The Committee believes that the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities can serve a vital role in providing for the expression of cultural, religious and linguistic rights in a way that fosters nation-building. If the Commission is effective, it will represent a significant further step in the consolidation of the process of our transition from a divided past to a common future that acknowledges both our diversity and unity.

The Committee notes that the Ministry and the Department of Provincial and Local Government undertook an extensive three-year process of consultation with a wide range of stakeholders before finalising the Bill for introduction into Parliament. The process included consultative conferences, workshops, provincial public hearings and the establishment of a technical committee, representative of key stakeholders, to process earlier drafts of the Bill. In fact, the process was so consultative that several key stakeholders decided not to participate in the parliamentary public hearings because they felt that they had been given adequate opportunity to express their concerns.

The Committee congratulates the Ministry and the Department for the sensitive way in which it has processed this Bill.

The Commission is the only institution "supporting constitutional democracy", provided for in Chapter 9 of the Constitution, that has not yet been established. With the passing of this Bill, the Commission can now be established, and the Committee proposes that the Commission be launched as soon as possible. It seems to the Committee that 24 September - Heritage Day - might be a suitable day.

The Committee recognises that there could be an overlap between the powers and functions of the Commission and those of other institutions, including the South African Human Rights Commission, the Pan South African Language Board, the National House of Traditional Leaders and the Commission for Gender Equality. The Committee is also aware that questions are being raised about how productive and effective some of these institutions are, and whether the country, with its limited resources and many challenges, can afford to have so many constitutional institutions. The Committee believes that these issues should be carefully considered at some appropriate stage.

Within the prescripts of the Constitution, the Committee sought to both define a specific role for the Commission and to encourage the Commission to co-operate effectively with other institutions. Section 6 in particular focuses on the need for this co-operation. It is in the practical implementation of the Bill, however, that certain issues around the specific role of the Commission, its co-operation with other institutions and its productivity and effectiveness will be addressed. We urge the Department and to-be-established Commission to ensure that these issues are appropriately dealt with. We will certainly be monitoring the process.

In many senses, the proposed Commission is unique. There are few, if any, parallels for it anywhere in the world. The Commission has a major responsibility to provide for the expression of diversity and unity in a mutually reinforcing way as part of our nation-building process. We wish it well.