Hindasa Foundation commends Parliament's commitment to transparency and oversight, as community leaders unite to address concerns over the CRL Commission's Section 22 process.
The Hindasa Foundation has commended Dr. Zweli Mkhize and the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) for what it calls a "principled intervention" in reasserting Parliament’s oversight role over the controversial Section 22 process of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission).
The controversy surrounds the CRL Rights Commission's push to establish the Section 22 Committees, which the body says are intended to encourage self-regulation and address abuses in the religious sector.
However, the move has been met with fierce opposition from various faith groups. The Cogta meeting comes as the CRL's process has proceeded with some communities, such as a recent engagement with the Hindu community in Chatsworth where the majority of delegates endorsed the idea of a Section 22 Committee.
The Hindasa Foundation issued a statement welcoming Cogta’s meeting with the Commission this week, which addressed widespread concerns from various religious organisations about the constitutionality and perceived overreach of the CRL’s efforts to explore self-regulation in the sector.
