Programme for this session; Prevention of Organised Crime Amendment Bill: discussion

Meeting report

JUSTICE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
17 February 1999
PROGRAMME FOR THIS SESSION; PREVENTION OF ORGANISED CRIME AMENDMENT BILL: DISCUSSION

Documents handed out:
Portfolio Committee Amendments to Prevention of Organised Crime Amendment Bill [B2-99]
Banking Council of South Africa's comments on reporting duty

MINUTES
Committee's programme
The Chairperson, Mr de Lange, gave an overview of the committee's programme. He said the discussions on the Prevention of Organised Crime Amendment Bill should be completed by today and the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill [B132B-98] was still with Cabinet. The Welfare Minister's dispute was that children under the age of 14 should not be incarcerated, as indicated in the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill. However the problem would arise about the placement of child offenders when serious offences have been committed and no bail could be granted to those children. Various discussions have occurred between Welfare and the Chairperson of the Justice Portfolio Committee, but no agreement has been reached yet. The Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill [B7-99] was with the committee and would be discussed at a later stage. The Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Amendment Bill was still with Cabinet. Regarding the budget debate, joint meetings would be held with the NCOP. The public hearings would take place on Monday, 22nd February and would continue on Friday, 26^th February until completion. On 1^st March the Minister of Justice, the National Director of Public Prosecutions and Judge Heath would address the committee.

Prevention of Organised Crime Amendment Bill
Mr de Lange (law advisor) took the committee through the changes of the Prevention of Organised Crime Amendment Bill which were made in the previous meeting.

The phrase "or part thereof" in the "property" definition was removed.

A distinction between property and money had to be made in Chapter 7. Hence this distinction (underlined text) was added to the "property" definition. The Chairperson remarked that the underlined section was not very succinct and needed rewording.

The phrase, "from a pattern of racketeering activity", had been moved to subsection 4(a)(i)

The suggestion from the Banking Council of South Africa on Section 7A of the principal Act has been included in clause 10.

In subclause 14(3) "or part thereof" has been bracketed, as suggested by the committee.

In the Afrikaans text, in subsection 16(4)(a)(i), the word "of" has been inserted.

The Chairperson asked Mr de Lange to check with Mr Smit (South African Law Commission) regarding the amendment "or transferred to" in subclause 34(c) mentioned in the previous meeting, as it has been overlooked.

In clause 35, subclause (a) was deleted and (b) was consequential.

Mr de Lange informed the committee that the Finance Department had not yet commented on how the Account would be audited in section 69A of the principal Act.

The Chairperson commented that the committee still awaited the Banking Council's response regarding the reporting duty in section 7 of the principal Act. The Banking Council had requested that every person should be obligated to report suspicious transactions. The Chairperson said that that was not possible.

The Bill would be voted on in the next meeting, Friday, 19^th February 1999, if all the outstanding issues raised were included in the Bill.