ATC210514: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the Draft Regulations submitted in terms of section 92(2) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000), dated 14 May 2021

Justice and Correctional Services

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the Draft Regulations submitted in terms of section 92(2) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000), dated 14 May 2021

 

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, having considered theDraft Regulations submitted in terms of section 92(2) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000), reports as follows:

 

1. The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) (the principal Act) came into operation on 9 March 2001.

 

1. Section 92(1) of the principal Act allows the Minister to make, by notice in the Gazette, Regulations regarding a number of aspects.

 

1. In terms of section 92(2) of the principal Act, any regulation in terms of subsection (1) must, before publication in the Gazette be submitted to Parliament.

 

1. The Promotion of Access to Information Amendment Act, 2019 (Act No. 31 of 2019 amends the principal Act to provide for information on the private funding of political parties and independent candidates to be recorded, preserved and made available and for connected matters.

 

1. Section 2 of the Amendment Act inserts section 52A in the principal Act. Section 52A deals with the recording, preservation and disclosure of records on the private funding of political parties and provides, inter alia, that the head of a political party must create and keep records of any donation exceeding the prescribed threshold that has been made to that political party in any given financial year and the identity of the persons or entities who made such donations. (The prescribed threshold refers to the amount to be determined by the President in terms of section 9 of the Political Party Funding Act, 2018 (Act 6 of 2018)).

 

1. Section 52A further provides that the records must be made available on a quarterly basis, as prescribed and that the records must be kept for a period of at least five years after the records concerned have been created.

 

1. The Regulations were amended to provide for the availability of the records as contemplated in section 52A of the Act:

 

1. As required by section 92(2) of the principal Act, the regulations were submitted to Parliament before the publication in the Gazette. It was submitted to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in letters dated 3 February 2021.

 

1. The Amendment Act and the Amendment regulations came into force on 1 April 2021.

 

1. The Political Party Funding Act, 2018 (Act No. 6 of 2018), which provides for, and regulates, the public and private funding of political parties, in particular the establishment and management of Funds, to fund represented political parties sufficiently, came into operation on 1 April 2021.

 

Report to be noted.