Parliament, Wednesday, 29 November 2023 – The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) today passed two Bills – the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill and the Correctional Services Amendment Bill. The two Bills were passed by the National Assembly (NA) and were sent to the NCOP for concurrence.
The Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana, tabled the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill in Parliament on Wednesday, 1 November when he presented the Medium-Term Budget Policy (MTBPS) statement. The Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act No 9 of 2009 (as amended by the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Amendment Act, No13 of 2018), requires the Minister of Finance to table a Division of Revenue Amendment Bill with a revised fiscal framework if the adjustments budget affects changes to the Division of Revenue Act for the relevant year.
The Bill and its annexures address changes to schedules; provincial allocations; local government allocations; and gazetted conditional grant frameworks and allocations. Following a debate during its plenary, the NCOP adopted the Select Committee on Appropriation’s report with its recommendations and passed the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill.
During the plenary, the NCOP also passed the Correctional Services Amendment Bill. The Bill was introduced in Parliament in June this year to rectify the unconstitutional sections of the Correctional Services Act of 1998. A December 2020 Constitutional Court ruling declared that sections 88A(1)(b) and 91 of the Act are constitutionally invalid to the extent that they fail to provide an adequate level of independence to the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services.
The Bill further gives effect to provisions in the Act for community participation in the parole system. Among other things, it also compels the Department of Correctional Services to provide, as far as possible, measures to accommodate disabled prisoners. Taking into consideration the impending Constitutional Court deadline of 3 December 2023, the NCOP Plenary agreed to the Bill.
The Bills will now be sent to the President for assent as required by the Constitution.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Enquiries: Moloto Mothapo
Arrange a tour