Parliament, Tuesday, 5 December 2023 – The National Assembly during its plenary sitting today adopted key reports, including a report on the recommendations for new commissioners of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the report of the Ad hoc Joint Committee on Flood Disaster Relief and Recovery.
CANDIDATES RECOMMENDED FOR SAHRC VACANCIES
The NA also approved the report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the filling of six commissioners following a resignation on 31 January 2023 and the expiry of the term of five Commissioners on 31 December 2023.
The NA recommendation on the Human Rights Commission was done in terms of section 194(4) of the Constitution which provides that the President, on the recommendation of the National Assembly, must appoint the members of the South African Human Rights Commission.
The process to fill the vacancies follows two separate letters dated 30 January 2023 and 24 April 2023, which were received from the Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission informing the National Assembly Speaker about a resignation and alerting the House about further vacancies due to the expiry of the term of office of five commissioners.
The SAHRC Chairperson further requested the National Assembly to consider appointing all the commissioners in a full-time capacity because the Commission’s workload far outweighs the available capacity. “In effect, the two part-time commissioners work as if they are full-time, but are not remunerated as such,” the report stated.
A total of 13 candidates were shortlisted and underwent a suitable screening process and verification of academic qualifications. The results were made available to the committee before it made its decision on who it would recommend to the House for appointment.
In its report to the NA, the Committee recommended the six candidates based on their performance during the interview process. The interviews took place on 14 and 15 November 2023. The candidates will be appointed on a full-time and part-time basis. They are:
Full Time Commissioners:
• Mr AC Nissen,
• Ms ENB Khwinana,
• Dr WH Boshoff and
• Prof. T Madlingozi
Part-time Commissioners:
• Adv S Makoasha and
• Mr AA Gungubele
The report also recommended that Mr AC Nissen be appointed as Chairperson of the Commission in terms of section 7 of the Act. Furthermore, the report states that all appointments will be for a period of seven years from the date of appointment.
The recommendations will now be sent to the President for his consideration and appointment.
REPORT ON FLOOD DISASTER RELIEF
Meanwhile, the NA also adopted the Ad Hoc Joint Committee on Flood Disaster Relief and Recovery’s report. The report sets out the work done to address the impact of floods in 2022 and 2023 in the relevant provinces that were affected. The report also contains several practical recommendations for future flood disaster interventions and adverse weather events due to climate change.
Amongst the recommendations put forward by the committee for the Gauteng province is the inclusion of climate change as a key consideration in all flood disaster interventions by organs of state to foster a better understanding of the broader context in which the flood crisis unfolds. For the KZN province, the committee recommended that the national government should intervene and convert the disaster funds into indirect grants spent on the municipalities and on behalf of the province.
The committee has also requested for the responsible state organs to place more emphasis on municipal infrastructure maintenance, including clearing of stormwater drainage systems and culverts before the onset of rainy seasons in the North West province.
The report will now be sent to the NCOP for consideration.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
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