By Khulille Thwala
Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed relief over the merging of the Human Rights Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The MPs made these submissions during the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs’ portfolio committee debate in Parliament. The submissions were received by Minister of Justice Pholile Shakantu.
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The minister facilitated the merging of the two commissions after the ACC was rendered redundant due to a ruling by Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala stating that the ACC was unconstitutional as its mandate overlapped with that of the Human Rights Commission.
Gege MP Musa Kunene, in his submission, said people were starting to underestimate the power of the ACC. He indicated that some were now of the notion that they would get away with corruption in the country because the commission was toothless.
“This entity was given a budget they could not use and it was hurtful to witness the officials of the commission being ridiculed for not doing their job when their hands were tied,” said Kunene.
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He said this was one entity under the ministry that required immediate harmonisation as it was crucial to eradicating bad practices in the country.
Corroborating these sentiments was Manzini North MP Macford Sibandze who said this merger was long overdue and it was vital for the entity to hit the ground running.
The MPs further questioned what would happen to the cases halted following the redundancy of the ACC. They wondered if those cases would be backdated or if they would, unfortunately, fall through the cracks.
