Q&A consultation at the National Assembly at the House of Good Hope on 9 March 2023. Photo: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais
Parliament passed the Judicial Affairs Amendment Bill, paving the way for the expunging of the criminal records of those convicted and sentenced for violating Covid-19 lockdown rules.
This is after the bill was finalized and approved by the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Portfolio Committee earlier this month.
Thousands more people were arrested for violating curfew rules, not wearing masks, eating alcohol and visiting the beach or parks between March 2020 and January 2021, as prohibited by the Disaster Management Act.
However, if the new regulation becomes law, those criminals will be a thing of the past.
The bill was introduced in March by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola.
On Wednesday, justice committee chairman and ANC MP Bulelani Magwanone said the disqualification would be for a convicted user who has paid an admission of guilt fine if the bill becomes law.
“It proposes that the minister can state that certain categories of offences do not result in a previous conviction against the accused and provides for the elimination of offences committed under the Disaster Management Act,” Magwanishe told the National Assembly.
However, the deputy of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Veronica Mente, warned that she opposes drafting a law that addresses “a total of issues. “
READ ALSO: Majority vote sees disaster management amendment bill rejected
Mente said that while the EFF noted some spaces that the party had welcomed, that may not be the case on the bill as a whole.
“The prosecutions and persecutions that have resulted from regulations stemming from the Covid Disaster Management Act have shown how our judicial formula can be used to seriously restrict people’s rights. Never again do we deserve the law to be used to pursue sinister motives like what happened with Covid. ,” she said.
“However, we are not in a position to offer our full support for the bill, as we want to address some issues in greater depth. We rejected the bill,” Mente added.
Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks shared these sentiments.
“We want more scrutiny and that’s why we may not support this bill,” Hendricks said.
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) supported the bill, pointing out how criminal records would possibly have affected some people’s chances of finding employment.
“May we never again have such irrational regulations that have been passed through parliamentary intervention or oversight,” said ACDP MP Steven Swart.
The bill was passed after receiving it also from the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
It will now be submitted to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for approval before becoming law through President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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