Parliament, Tuesday, 18 August 2020 – A joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, and the Select Committee on Security and Justice have welcomed the assurance by the Minister of Home Affairs that the Cabinet has a mechanism in place that will facilitate the acceleration of the amendment of the Electoral Act.
The Minister informed the committees that the department had written to the President to activate the mechanism which will possibly speed up the policy consideration process which is a necessary prerequisite in amending the Electoral Act. “The activation of this mechanism is an evidence of the commitment by all stakeholders in complying with the Constitutional Court deadline to amend the Act,” said Ms Shahidabibi Shaikh, the Chairperson of the Select Committee.
Regarding the Integrated Roadmap, the committees have called on all the role-players to commit their efforts and time to ensuring that the process to ament the Act is done within the stipulated time-frame.
Both committees remain cognisant of the time constraint as a result of the deadline, but are steadfast that there should be adequate consultation to ensure that the process towards the amendment of the Act is as inclusive as possible within the limitations caused by Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the committees welcomed the work done by the Municipal Demarcation Board in relation to the ward delimitation in preparation for next year’s local government elections. While the committees are cognisant of the impact of Covid-19 on the public engagement process, they have called for a collaborative engagement with the municipalities to ensure that there is meaningful and satisfactory public participation.
The committees also welcome the interaction between the MDB and IEC which has led to the revised date of November 2020 for the handover of the final delimited wards. “While we welcome the reworked timelines for the completion of the ward delimitation process, the legitimacy of the process is dependent on the MDB reaching South Africans in the outskirts especially the poor. The MDB must work with all the levels of government to ensure that their public participation processes are sound and reach the majority of those affected,” said Adv Bongani Bongo, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee.
The committees have committed to a further engagement on the integrated roadmap to ensure that all the role-players cooperate in the efforts to conclude the process.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS, ADV BONGANI BONGO AND THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND JUSTICE MS SHAHIDABIBI SHAIKH
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