House Chairperson, the main aim of this Bill is to intensify the criminal justice system by strengthening the SAPS crime-fighting capacity in respect of fingerprinting and body printing.
It is our view that the correct implementation of this Bill will enhance the investigation capacity of the SAPS which is bound to assist in the dramatic reduction of crime. The IFP, therefore, welcomes these changes to the legislation to bring us into the 21st century. We believe that this Bill should be implemented as soon as possible in consultation with the Ministries of Transport, Home Affairs and State Security.
The costing of this Bill will be very high because of the human resources involved and the upgrading of forensic laboratories. This will shorten the time waiting for the courts to get results from the laboratories.
The IFP supports this Bill because it will eliminate forgery and tighten up investigation, thereby finding the criminals guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The IFP believes that the laboratories will need to be run professionally and they must be transformed, so that they are not used by certain elements with ulterior motives against others as if it is their domain.
The IFP wants to thank all those who were involved in making sure that this Bill came to fruition; that includes all stakeholders and the Chairperson who has been chairing this meeting. I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]