Motlanthe appointed to chair legislative review panel

Former President Kgalema Motlanthe has been appointed to chair an advisory panel that will be tasked with assessing key legislation that was passed by Parliament since 1994.

The 17-member panel, which comprises a wide array of experts from various sectors of the economy, will look at laws that need to be reviewed, amended or changed to drive the country’s development agenda.

Parliament Speaker Baleka Mbete said the panel, which has been given four months to complete its work, will specifically assess key legislation with a focus on eradicating inequality in society and to forge nation building through economic transformation.

“As Speaker of the National Assembly, I have established, as mandated by the Speaker’s Forum, an Independent Advisory Panel on the Acceleration of Change and Transformation.

“The key purpose of the panel is to assess the efficacy of legislation against four identified areas … The South African Constitution calls for the building of a socially cohesive and economically stable nation – united in diversity.”

Briefing journalists at the Good Hope Chamber, the Speaker said the panel would investigate the impact of legislation in four key areas.

The panel would look at:

-        The triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality;

-        The creation and equitable distribution of wealth;

-        Land reform, restitution, redistribution and security of tenure; and

-        Nation building and social cohesion.

The Speaker said the panel, which has been given 12 months to complete its work and submit a report with recommendations, aims to review legislation, assess implementation, identify gaps and propose action steps that impact the four areas.

“This will be done with a view to identify laws that require strengthening or amending and laws that require change.

“In other words, this intervention should entail the identification of existing legislation that enables the transformational agenda and pursuit of the developmental state, as well as laws that impede this goal,” she said.

Former Deputy President Motlanthe said the work of the panel will include public consultations that will be conducted across the country, and this will nclude public outreach, among other forms of research.

He hoped that the quality of public participation as well as the recommendations of the panel would improve the quality of life of all South African citizens.

Other members of the panel include former Minister Brigitte Mabandla, former First Rand CE Paul Harris; former Auditor-General Terence Nombembe, Former Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni and SA Youth Council President Thulani Tshefuta, among others.