Adoption of report hinges on ruling
AfriForum argues legal battle is about public participation; Parliament counters: ‘The bus has left the station’
PARLIAMENT says it will wait until today’s Western Cape High Court ruling on whether it will proceed with the adoption of the report on the expropriation of land without compensation next Tuesday.
This follows a legal battle by AfriForum to block the adoption of the report by Parliament.
AfriForum has lodged an urgent application to stop the adoption of the report and a second application to set aside the decision of the Constitutional Review Committee to approve the report.
Committee co-chairperson Stan Maila said yesterday that they could not decide at this stage whether Tuesday’s debate will go ahead.
That would be determined by the decision of the court today, he said.
During arguments in court, advocate Etienne Labuschagne for AfriForum said the committee had flouted processes by not going through the 176 000 written submissions.
The Constitution demands the public be given a meaningful chance of public participation. The duty imposed on the committee is the duty to consider participation by the public
He said this was despite the fact that this was a constitutional requirement.
However, advocate Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, acting for Parliament, said AfriForum had premised its application on the wrong assumption.
There was no reason for Parliament to delay next week’s debate in the House to adopt the report, he said.
But Labuschagne said there was no basis for the committee to exclude the 176 000 written submissions.
Ngcukaitobi said Parliament had not hidden the fact that there were a total of 638 000 written submissions received by the institution.
Out of these submissions, 176 000 had been excluded because they were deemed to be duplicates. This left Parliament with 449 000 submissions.
Out of the 449 000 submissions, 65% of the people said they did not support expropriation of land without compensation.
Labuschagne said this was about public participation.
“Parliament can decide whether to accept or reject the report. My learned friend erred by suggesting this is an attack on land reform. It is about public participation.
“The Constitution demands the public be given a meaningful chance of public participation. The duty imposed on the committee is the duty to consider participation by the public,” said Labuschagne.
Ngcukaitobi said the process was now in the hands of Parliament to debate the report and take a decision.
“What we know about this report is that it has left the committee. The report is beyond the remit of the committee. Where the report is right now, it is before the National Assembly. On the case that they (AfriForum) have presented, the bus has left the station. That is why they are before this court,” said Ngcukaitobi.
The full Bench of the High Court will make a ruling on the application by AfriForum today.