In this regard, the commission conducted research and established that there were 2 800 Acts on the Statute Book and that 218 of these were administered by the Department of Transport. Of the 218 pieces of legislation identified as being statutes administered by the Department of Transport, the commission and the department identified 63 Acts that may be repealed wholly, and 19 Acts that may be partially repealed.
The Bill's first schedule seeks to repeal some railway construction Acts dating back to 1939. These Acts authorised the construction and equipment of railway lines at certain places in the country. Having achieved the purpose for which they were enacted, these Acts are now spent and can be repealed.
Schedule 2 seeks to repeal Acts that no longer serve any purpose, for example the Railways and Harbours Strike and Service Amendment Act of 1914. For example, section 15 is the only remaining provision of the Railway Expropriation Act of 1995, the other provisions having been repealed over the years. The application of section 15 depends on the existence of a provision in another Act, and that Act itself has been repealed. Thus, section 15 can no longer be applied and the Acts in question can be repealed.
The Portfolio Committee on Transport and the relevant stakeholders discussed further Acts listed in Schedule 1 of the Bill and approved 47 of those Acts as legislation that needed to be repealed totally. Within Schedule 2 provisions that stand to be repealed have either become obsolete or will become obsolete since the legislation they refer to stands to be repealed by virtue of Schedule 1. For example, the application of section 1 of the Railways and Harbours Service and Superannuation Fund Acts Amendment Act of 1930, which stands to be replaced, is dependent on a provision in another Act. Since that Act has already been repealed, the said section serves no purpose and can be repealed.
Furthermore, the Portfolio Committee on Transport, having discussed this Bill with the department and relevant stakeholders, has approved 14 Acts in Schedule 2. These fall into the category of those Acts that need to be repealed to a certain extent.
The Bill was published for comment in the Government Gazette in February 2009. Comments were received from Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA and the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser.
The state law advisers and the Department of Transport are of the opinion that this Bill must therefore be dealt with in accordance with the procedure established by section 75 of the Constitution. This is because it contains no provisions to which the procedure set out in section 74 or 76 of the Constitution applies.
Hon Chair, we therefore request that this House pass this Bill. I thank you. [Applause.]