DA condemns rejection of public submissions on Scorpions legislation
The comments made during a briefing at Parliament today by the Chairpersons of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development and the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security displayed the ANC's complete and utter contempt for the legitimacy of public participation and the parliamentary processes involved in the drafting of legislation.
The decision to disband the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions) by absorbing the unit into the SAPS was once again presented by the ANC as a fait accompli, the implementation of which can not and will not be in any way swayed by public opposition to the move - however vast it may be.
The two committee chairs also deliberately misrepresented the number of members of the public who have voiced their opposition to the disbanding of the Scorpions, by cynically suggesting that signing petitions - either on paper or by e-mail and SMS - does not represent a legitimate exercise in public submission, since it does not "suggest ways to improve upon the draft legislation".
Over 114 000 South Africans have either signed petitions, or made written submissions to the parliamentary committees processing the two bills that aim to see the Scorpions dissolved. To the Chairs of these committees, the submissions are irrelevant; they claim that since they express the simple fact that members of the public do not want to see the Scorpions disbanded, because those who have voiced their opposition to the move are in effect refusing to work within the bounds of a politically-motivated decision that the ANC took at Polokwane, their views hold no water and are invalid.
It is clear from public opinion that what is at stake here is the decision to disband the unit in the first place; not how this will be done. Nevertheless, Justice Chair, Yunus Carrim indicated that the ANC will continue to push this legislation through Parliament - even if the entire country opposes the move.
Safety & Security Chair, Maggie Sotyu further claims that only about 100 of the submissions she has received from the public are "acceptable". The Democratic Alliance (DA) knows of over 14 000 written submissions alone which have been made to Parliament with respect to the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill and the South African Police Services Amendment Bill.
Even more disturbing was the attempt by the committee chairs to cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the submissions received, based on race or party affiliation. Carrim went so far as to say that the submissions held no weight because, according to his own unsubstantiated assessment, they come from "a particular section of society". The DA was unaware that only some opinions were valid in this matter. We were under the impression that Parliament, as a representative of all South Africans, affords equal value to the views of every citizen.
Next week Tuesday, 5 August 2008, during the first in the series of public hearings on the Scorpions legislation at Parliament, the DA will request that the chairperson furnish the committee with information about the exact number of submissions that have been received from the public. Should we detect any significant discrepancy between that figure and the number of South Africans that we are aware have made submissions, we will pursue every avenue at our disposal in order to ensure that every single submission and every single name on every petition is recorded - failing which we will petition the Speaker of the National Assembly to intervene in the matter.
The DA will continue to do everything possible to ensure that South Africans' views are heard on this decision - upon which there is clear agreement amongst the vast majority, regardless of their race or political affiliation: the Scorpions must be retained in their current form.
Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on safety and security, July 30 2008
