Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill: public hearings programme

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone and asked the Committee Secretary to take the Committee through the planned public hearings programme on the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill.

Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill: Public Hearings Programme

The Committee Secretary explained that changes had been made to the public hearings programme and briefed the Committee on the travel arrangements.

The Chairperson explained that no public hearing would take three hours, nor commence at nine o’clock as individuals could not satisfy that time.

Five provinces were dominant Khoi-San provinces. He proposed that other provinces could be visited next year. If it were necessary to reduce the number to five to four public hearings, the Committee should do that. A public hearing lasting four to five hours was not practical; a public hearing was an intensive process lasting a day.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee spend a day in each area and conclude Committee work in that day to ensure that the Committee was thorough.

The Chairperson explained that the Rural Alliance would litigate against the Committee for not adequately complying with its commitments.

The constituency period should be utilised for the extension of public hearings.

The Chairperson said the Committee should be briefed by the Department of Traditional Affairs. The Rural Alliance members had raised an issue regarding the durations allocated to the public hearings programme. The last hearing should be in Kimberley and return to Cape Town to ensure that the medium-term budget could be addressed by the Committee in Parliament.

The Chairperson again emphasised that three hours was insufficient for a public hearing.

Mr K Mileham (DA) expressed concern that public hearings extended into the demarcated constituency period. He agreed that more time should be spent in each to be effective; and suggested that the public hearings be held in three provinces this year and three provinces next year before Parliament starts. This would alleviate the pressure of conducting public hearing on Saturdays and Sundays, which undermined the quality of public input.

The Chairperson said the Rural Alliances had indicated that it was unconstitutional to exclude provinces from the public hearings programme based on the presence of Khoi and San in the province.Weekdays and Saturdays would be utilised.

Mr N Masondo (ANC) indicated that it would be useful to confirm the completion of the official programme.

The Chairperson replied that the programme should be released in a day.Limpopo would have public hearings in 2017.

The Chairperson concluded that communities would be informed on the confirmed dates for the hearings.

Mr Mileham said he had received reports regarding water shortages and requested that the Committee receive a briefing from the Minister of Water and Sanitation and National Disaster Management next week regarding the drought issue.

The Chairperson noted the request.

The meeting was adjourned.