Hon House Chair, hon Speaker, hon members, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services requests the permission of the House in terms of Rule 273(1) for the introduction of the following legislation in the House, mainly the Promotion of Access to Information Amendment Bill of 2019.
The Bill aims to amend the promotion of Access to Information Act No 2 of 2000. This is meant to revise and align its provisions with section 32 of the Constitution. The Bill seeks to regulate the recordal, preservation and availability of information in respect of private funding to political parties and independent candidates.
On 21 June 2018, the Constitutional Court in My Vote Counts NPC versus the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and another, confirmed an order of constitutional invalidity made by the High Court of South Africa, Western Cape Division, which declared that Promotion of Access to Information Act is
invalid to the extent of its inconsistency with the Constitution by failing to provide for the recordal, preservation and reasonable disclosure of information on the private funding of political parties and independent candidates.
The Constitutional Court further ordered Parliament to amend Promotion of Access to Information Act and take any other measure it deems appropriate to provide for the recordal, preservation and facilitation of reasonable access to information on the private funding of political parties and independent candidates within a period of 18 months.
The Bill will address the Constitutional Court's judgment by inserting a new Chapter 2(a). This chapter will deal with publication and availability of publication and availability of certain records of political parties in order to regulate the recordal, preservation and availability facilitation of information. In respect of private funding of political parties and independent candidates and to provide for matters connected therewith, the Bill creates an obligation for the accounting officer of a political party which is defined to include an independent candidate to create and keep records of
any monies paid or donated by persons or entities to a political party which is more than R100 000.
Any money lent to the political party, any money paid on behalf of the political party, asserts, services or facilities provided to a political party and any sponsorship provided to a political party. The records must be available on social media platforms on quarterly basis. Furthermore, the Bill requires that the records be updated and be made available on social media platforms of the political party concerned two months before the election of the National Assembly, the provincial legislatures and municipal elections or a referendum.
The records must be kept for a period of at least five years after the records were created. The Constitutional Court considered the right to make political choices and the right to vote. Upon deciding whether there was a link between these rights and the disclosure of private funding information, the court found that the constitution envisages an informed right to vote.
This is because in a democracy, government is based on the will of the people which is expressed through elections. The court finds that if voters did not have access to all the necessary information to make an informed decision when voting, this can frustrate the will of the people. We request therefore, that the House approves this request. Thank you very much.
There was no debate.