Chairperson, thank you for giving me the opportunity to read the statement regarding the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill today, Tuesday, 26 October 2010, in the NCOP.
Chairperson of the NCOP, Chief Whip, Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform in absentia, MECs - of whom I do not see any here - and hon members of this distinguished House, this afternoon I have been given the opportunity to share with the House some of the deliberations of the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs on the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill, which was introduced to Parliament by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform in August this year.
For your information, hon members, the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill is the legislation that amends the Deeds Registries Act, Act 47 of 1937, which is responsible for the registration of deeds. In South Africa the law does not explicitly guarantee title to land. The system of deeds registration is based on a juristic foundation and longstanding practices and procedures. It is this system which has the effect of guaranteeing titles.
The main purpose for amending the Bill was to substitute certain obsolete expressions and to enhance the application of the Act to conform to the current uniform practices of the deeds registries. The process that the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs followed for processing this section 75 Bill was the same as that followed with the Sectional Titles Amendment Bill, as they were done concurrently. In general the amendments were merely procedural to conform to current legal practices.
In order to fulfil the mandate of the NCOP to facilitate public participation during the legislative process, the committee advertised the Bill for public comment and received two submissions, from the South African Property Owners Association and the Banking Council of South Africa. All the submissions were responded to by the department, and the committee was satisfied with the discussions held around the submissions.
The Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs, having considered the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill, referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism, JTM, as a section 75 Bill, supports the Bill with proposed amendments. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Bill, subject to proposed amendments, agreed to in accordance with section 75 of the Constitution.