• The right to self-defence.
• The right to keep and bear firearms.
• The right to freedom from abuse by police or government.
• The right to presumption of innocence

The writers requested that these rights should be firmly entrenched in the Constitution.

The writers suggest that the right to private ownership of firearms should be protected in the Constitution.

The submission proposes changes with regard to arrest procedures under section 35(1) of the Constitution, detention procedures under section 35(2) of an individual suspected of committing a serious crime. The submission also proposes changes with regards to the right to a fair trial under section 35(3).

The writer views the government as disregarding the rule of law and recommendations of stakeholders, by pardoning, for political reasons, a large number of prisoners convicted of serious crimes. It is argued that those convicts pardoned by the government did not receive pardon from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The recommendation is that the government and Parliament are not above the law and should not grant such pardons.

The writers are concerned about the escalating levels of crime in South Africa. They therefore call for the death penalty to be reinstated.

Electoral System - A more direct constituency-based electoral system is proposed rather than a party list system. Elected officials must be accountable to local communities to ensure the smooth running of democracy and the dispersion of decision-making processes.

National/regional referendums - Any political party, organization or individual should be entitled to request the government to hold a national/regional referendum on a certain matter if they can obtain a minimum amount of support in accordance with prescribed procedures within a specified period.

Election procedures should ensure a clear majority.

Changes to the Constitution are proposed to allow for the following improvements to the operation of the judicial system: time frame for hearing of court cases, allowing the submission of recorded testimony and submission of evidence acquired illegally.

Section 9 of the Constitution provides for the equality of all citizens before the law, and that everyone has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.

The submission proposes that the qualification to this right in section 9(2) of the Constitution should be removed, as equality is a fundamental right, which cannot be qualified in an open and democratic society.

The suggestion is that the Bill of Rights be reviewed to accommodate the interests of victims of crime.

The submission proposes that the scope of the Bill of Rights should be extended to also include Responsibilities, i.e. the Constitution should contain a "Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" chapter.

One submission contended that the Interim Constitution compelled the Provincial and the National Parliaments to refer Bills pertaining to traditional authorities, indigenous law or such traditions and customs, or any other matters having a bearing thereon, to the Provincial and the National Houses of Traditional Leaders before being passed into law.

The concern from the Traditional Leaders is that the Final Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) unfortunately does not have similar provisions as in the Interim Constitution, except to recognise the existence of Traditional leadership. As a consequence of this omission, it is submitted that this state of affairs is hampering the Houses of Traditional Leaders in making their informed inputs to Parliamentary Portfolio Committees, since they rely on newspaper advertisements, thus disabling them from presenting well researched submissions on particular subjects affecting traditional leaders due to stringent deadlines.

The submission further proposes an amendment of the Constitution to recognise traditional authorities as local government.

The other submission calls for the recognition of Khoisan as an indigenous nation entitled to a House of Traditional Leaders.

The submission proposes that the Constitution should recognise the existence or development of Sepulana as an indigenous language.

The committee does not support any amendments to the Constitution in this regard. The matter has, however, been referred to the Pan South African Language Board

The complaint is about the Employment Equity Act, which is regarded as a form of an exclusion that is contrary to the word and spirit of the new Constitution. The Labour Relations Act and Bargaining Councils, extend concluded agreements to non-parties of the council.

The submission suggests that schools should provide food for learners.

The Committee does not support any amendments to the constitution in this regard.

The submission refers to the fact that there is no constitutional provision affording rights for humane treatment of animals and views it as a lacuna in the Constitution. It is suggested that this impacts on the way people view animals. It is therefore argued that legislation regulating the treatment of animals is insufficient. It is proposed that national legislation should create a realistic and sustainable Act of Parliament and should provide for proposals outlined in the submission. (page 12 of the summary document)

This submission proposes amendments to the Finance Section of the Constitution.

It requests that sections 223-225 be replaced by the following:

• Parliament should have the sole power to issue (create) money that will be debt and interest free.
• The power to create money should be vested in a body similar to the Constitutional Court (Monetary Trusteeship) that should be appointed and monitored by the National Assembly.
• This body, Monetary Trusteeship, should meet once a month to exercise duties of oversight over the monetary soundness of the state and the execution thereof, with the cooperation of the Minister of Finance, the Treasury and the Reserve Bank.
• A Price Index should determine the amount of money to be withdrawn and the total to be in circulation and be kept at a stable level to avoid prolonged periods of excessive abundance or shortage.
• Additional money and money withdrawn from circulation should pay for state expenses and thus abolish the need to levy income and any person decided upon by the Minister of Finance and the Monetary Trusteeship.
• Any other forms of taxation levied on citizens of SA should be abolished.
• No debt, private or public, shall be enforceable at law.

It is suggested that the Constitution needs a stronger religious approach. The submission proposed the inclusion of "Almighty God" in the Preamble of the Constitution.

The Committee does not support any amendments to the constitution in this regard.

1 submission received.

The following submission recommends unique revisions to the Constitution. The Constitution should be completely revised in the context of the state working towards a uniform State.

The submission suggests that the Constitutional Court should subject every law passed by Parliament to scrutiny before it goes to the President for assent

1 submission received.

The submission suggests that the Constitutional Court should be freely accessible to every citizen, without having to be represented by expensive legal counsel.

The Committee does not support any amendments to the constitution in this regard.

The submission raises problems experienced in the arts and culture sector regarding the alignment of legislative competencies in Schedule 5 of the Constitution.

• Libraries: The Schedule specifies that "Libraries other than national libraries" are an exclusive provincial legislative competence. In practice and under the interim constitution, libraries are a shared provincial/local competence.

• Museums: The Schedule specifies that "Museums other than national museums" are also an exclusive provincial competence.

• Cultural matters: Schedule 5 specifies "Provincial cultural matters". This poses problems with management of community arts centers, theatres and other cultural facilities.

The Minister suggests that these are local community services and that service delivery would be improved if there were no legal impediments to a local authority’s role in these activities.

• Archives: the problems arise with the fact that whereas " archives other than National Archives" are exclusive provincial legislative competence, national records need to be kept in provinces for better management and better service delivery. It is also suggested that a shared competence would be more appropriate.

The submissions suggested that there be interaction between the Joint Constitutional Review Committee and the public. The proposed interaction could vary from the personal hearings of evidence to Committee members visiting communities to inform them about the preparation of submissions.

The Committee noted that there is interaction in terms of inviting public submissions. The Constitutional Review Committee will determine through its programme ways of improving interaction with the public.