CHURCHES APPLAUD LEGISLATION ON EQUALITY AND INFORMATION

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) welcomes the enactment this week of three key pieces of legislation: the Promotion of Access to Information Bill, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Bill and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Bill. This constitutionally-required legislation gives citizens powerful new tools to address the legacies of the apartheid era. The first two bills will help to ensure that the actions of public officials are fair and open to scrutiny. The last obliges all South Africans to respect the equal dignity of all people and to promote equality--in particular by prohibiting unfair discrimination on the basis of race, gender, or disability.

The SACC made written and oral submissions on all three of these bills, often in alliance with other religious and human rights organisations. We appreciate the serious consideration given to our concerns by the respective parliamentary committees, and we commend the committee members for their diligence in meeting the constitutional deadline of 4 February.

We are especially pleased that the Promotion of Access to Information Bill (originally tabled as the Open Democracy Bill) has been expanded to give full effect to Section 32 of the Constitution, including the right of access to privately- held information required for the exercise or protection of any right. The committee's additions are largely consistent with the spirit of the SACC's proposals.

Similarly, we are satisfied that many of our concerns have been taken into account in the redrafting of the Promotion of Equality Bill. In particular, we applaud the changes to the structure of the bill. These place greater emphasis on the fundamental principles of non-discrimination and the duty to promote equality, while retaining a schedule of specific (and often covert) discriminatory practices within various sectors for the purposes of illustration. We also appreciate the inclusion of provisions designed to prevent unfair discrimination on the basis of HIV status, nationality, socio- economic status, or family responsibility and status.

Our strong endorsement of these three bills is not without reservations, however. We remain especially concerned about the blanket exclusion of access to records of the Cabinet and its committees contained in Section 12 of the Promotion of Access to Information Bill. The bill identifies twelve specific grounds for the refusal of access to government records. These should be sufficient to prevent disclosure of Cabinet records that could jeopardise national security or otherwise harm the public interest.

Ultimately, all three bills must be judged not by the quality of their phrasing but by their practical impact in building accountable government and stimulating efficient and equitable delivery of services, especially for the poorest sectors of our society. We intend to monitor their application and implementation, particularly with respect to the expeditious establishment of structures (such as specialised equality courts and information officers) to ensure the accessibility and effectiveness of these new mechanisms.

With the enactment of this legislation, two main constitutional mandates remain unfulfilled: the creation of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (sec. 185-6) and the establishment of a procedure for the amendment of money bills (sec. 77(2)). Following protracted consultations with stakeholders, the government has begun drafting legislation to give effect to sections 185-6. We urge the government to adopt a similar, broadly consultative approach to the task of ensuring effective parliamentary oversight over the national budget.