BDFM Online
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) again had to use its majority muscle yesterday in order to force the controversial gay marriage bill through a parliamentary committee.
The Civil Union Bill has now only to be approved by the full National Council of Provinces (NCOP) before it can be signed into law by President Thabo Mbeki.
This has to happen before midnight on Thursday if a Constitutional Court deadline is to be met. The NCOP meets today, giving Mbeki tomorrow and Thursday to consider the legislation and sign it into law.
The NCOP's social services committee yesterday approved the bill, despite protests from the United Christian Democratic Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). All six ANC MPs on the committee voted for the measure.
The voting on the bill brought to an end another gruelling round of public submissions on the bill. The National Assembly's home affairs committee conducted extensive public hearings on the bill a few weeks ago. Clearly, the second round of hearings was designed to make it difficult to mount a court challenge on the basis of lack of consultation.
ANC committee chairwoman Joyce Masilela painstakingly went through all the submissions that were made and then the committee proceeded to approve the bill without amendment.
When IFP MP Jeanette Vilikazi complained that no notice was being taken of the public objections to the bill, ANC MP Tsietsi Setona said that sometimes politicians had to lead public opinion.
The NCOP meets at 9am this morning.
Because the bill deals with a national competence, the NCOP will vote as political parties and not as provincial delegations.
The proposed law has caused deep divisions within the ANC, despite the ruling party's endorsement. Traditional leaders aligned to the ANC have objected strongly to the bill.