Chairperson, after the general election of 1994 South Africa changed the old order to a new order. However, judicial matters were not seen as a priority.
The IFP believes that the TRC Act sets out a clear distinction between political offenders and criminal offenders. The IFP therefore submitted almost 400 applications for presidential pardons on behalf of prisoners, whom we felt were not criminal offenders but political offenders.
Yet, after almost three years we have not heard any positive response from the hon Minister, who is responsible for processing the applications and making recommendations to the President.
The IFP believes that the hon Minister has the ability to apply the law evenly to all political prisoners of all political parties, so that the President could make a final decision. We therefore urge the hon Minister to process the applications as quickly as possible. Despite all of this, the IFP supports the Budget Vote.