Madam Deputy Speaker, I am speaking in support of this Bill on behalf of the DA. The SA Human Rights Commission has been functioning under its outdated 1994 Act for a scandalously long time. That Act was written under the 1993 interim Constitution; it was in fact the very first law written by the Democratic Assembly. It did not give effect to the function which was constitutionalised in 1996 to require government departments' and your little report on the measures that they have taken towards the realisation of socioeconomic rights. These are the rights on access to housing, health care, food, water, and social security, as you will know, and it is also required by the Constitution to look at the rights to education and a healthy environment.
The Human Rights Commission has nevertheless been acting under its constitutional rights and duties, and has produced reports on these matters. It has at times been forced to use its powers of subpoena to elicit responses from government departments. Now, the new Act recognises the powers and functions in respect of socioeconomic rights. It also recognises the admirable role that the Human Rights Commission is playing in monitoring South Africa's obligations on the human rights treaties and it now creates a statutory basis for this role.
The 1993 interim Constitution required 11 commissioners, and the 1994 Act a minimum of five full-time commissioners. The consequence on at least one occasion was that a President - that was President Mbeki - did not simply appoint all of the candidates recommended by us from the National Assembly. Now that situation should have been remedied long time ago. This new Act does so. This Act recommends eight commissioners, of whom two are on a part- time basis. It also takes a position which we hope will be followed in the Acts governing other Chapter 9 institutions or when the Acts are amended in respect of the authority to select a chairperson and deputy chairpersons.
There is a wide disparity, as you will know, with respect to the provisions for the appointment of Chapter 9 institutions and their chairpersons. The Chapter 9 institutions' review recommended that the chairpersons should be appointed either by the institutions themselves or by the Assembly. We have opted for the latter course, and we hope that the others will follow.
This Act also gives effect to a Treasury regulation that was issued some years ago to address a lacuna in the Public Finance Management Act, the PFMA. As a result of the lacuna, a number of chief executive officers of Chapter 9 institutions took their accounting authority status to be able to take charge. We have now given effect to the Treasury regulation in the case of the commission, and that is a chairperson who bears executive authority, and this new Act makes that clear. [Applause.]