Chairperson, colleagues, comrades and friends and the hon Chief Whip, I am tabling before this House something very important and I will need the members' undivided attention.
We are tabling a Legal Aid Guide that will assist us as members and public representatives to go and assist our people and find out who qualifies to get legal aid and who doesn't. I suppose all members have it and will take it to their respective constituencies. It is important for members to take it with them because it is the 11th edition of this guide. The last time it was amended was before 1994.
This guide classifies people who qualify. Our concern as a committee was that the state uses money to defend people who have committed offences like abduction, arson, incest, murder, bestiality and even rape. As a committee we said that while everybody needs to be protected and to be given some legal aid, we think it is time that Parliament reviews this guide.
Concerning exclusions - that is, people who are excluded from getting legal aid - people who are fighting to claim their land because of the restitution of land rights are excluded. They can't get help. Hon Sibiya, hon Themba and hon Gamede, could you please take note of this?
Asylumseekers who do not even pay tax in our country qualify to get legal aid. To us that is unfair to our own people. Nonetheless, there are things that are good that had to be improved or implemented.
Many of you, when doing your constituency work, hon Kgarebe, come across double bookings. You find that one legal representative is expected to represent five people who are at times appearing in different courts.
It is up to us, as legal representatives, to question this guide. Until and unless this guide is amended, the status quo will continue. We can't allow that. Nonetheless, there are some good things that we accommodated.
On that note, let us support this guide for now, because we as the committee have instructed the department to come before Parliament with the amended version of this guide or bring legislation to deal with that within 12 months.
We don't understand why it's important that our student attorneys only represent people in criminal cases but not civil matters. Why? Some of us feel this is unfair to our people because in most cases those who go for civil cases are those loyal citizens of our country, those loyal voters who are going to vote for the ANC next year. There is no way they can be disadvantaged.
It is up to us as public representatives to take this guide home and assist our people because they need it. If they don't have it, they won't know their rights. They won't know who qualifies for what, hon Priscilla Themba. On that note, I table this report before the House. Let us adopt it. Thank you.
Debate concluded.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.