Deputy Speaker, Deputy President and hon members, I'm not a member of the Justice committee ...
... mme fela jaaka motho yo o goletseng kwa magaeng, e re fa o fitlhela go buiwa kgomo o be o ntsha thipa ya gago le wena o be o bua. [... however, as someone who grew up in the rural areas, when you find people busy, you also join in to help.]
Concrete steps towards a transformed legal profession are long overdue. As such, the necessity of this Bill cannot be overemphasised. The instructive tone in the Bill is understandable as well, even though understandable does not really translate into being correct or right.
If the status quo is to continue, it is likely to take a century before we see substantial transformation in the legal profession, and we cannot allow this to happen.
We welcome the levelling of the playing field in the legal playground, which we have no doubt will make all feel their South Africanness.
There is a mechanism in place should the Minister lose confidence in the ability of the council to perform its functions effectively and efficiently. In line with due process, there are steps to follow and observe and even involve the ombud to investigate the recommendations that were made. Should the Minister still have a lump in his throat, he will be at liberty to approach the High Court and, should it give him the benefit of the doubt, only then may the Minister appoint an interim council within 21 days of dissolution, whose tenure may not exceed six months.
As the late former Chief Justice, Arthur Chaskalson, commented when the Bill was introduced:
It would serve all concerned and affected well if there were to be a concerted effort towards reaching a consensus in these matters instead of dictating what must be done.
The Republic, being a unitary state, has to ensure that justice is meted out evenly. That the legal profession is not representative of the demographics of South Africa cannot be denied. So there is a need to ameliorate and regulate the different laws which apply in different parts of this country.
We note and appreciate that this Bill strives to ensure that access to legal services should not be the privilege of the high and mighty only. The poor also have a right to be heard without compromising the independence of the legal profession.
The UCDP hopes that this is just one step towards ensuring that the third arm of the state, the Office of the Chief Justice, will sooner rather than later be afforded the opportunity to handle its own budget, as is the case with the Electoral Commission. The UCDP supports the Legal Practice Bill. [Applause.]