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.