Call to fast-track DNA Bill and make it a reality

While many activists have applauded the department of women, youth, and persons with disabilities for their initiative to empower these social categories, others have urged the government to stop dragging its feet in terms of making the SA Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill a reality.

Gender-based violence (GBV) activist Mpho Seripe said the scourge of GBV in South Africa was proof that the Bill was crucial in combating crime; however recently there seemed to be no urgency from the government to approve it.

The Bill was introduced by the minister of police in December last year and was intended to empower the South African Police Service (Saps) to take buccal samples containing the DNA of persons serving prison sentences for offences listed in schedule 8 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

These include violent crimes such as rape, murder, human trafficking, robbery and culpable homicide. Amendments to the principal Act promulgated in 2015 had empowered Saps to take buccal samples, but only for a two-year transitional period that had expired in January 2017.

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Last year Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola revealed that since 2016, 96 875 prisoners, jailed for schedule 8 offences, had been released without a DNA sample being taken or recorded on the National forensic DNA Database.

Tears founder and CEO Mara Glennie previously told The Citizen that DNA profiling of offenders was a crucial tool in solving violent crimes and that this would have a huge impact on the prosecution of serious crime.

Glennie also explained that the problem started when the transitional provision of the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act No 37 of 2013 expired in 2017.

However, this provision placed the responsibility of collecting the DNA samples of schedule 8 offenders in the hands of the police.

Seripe said: “The Saps quarterly crime statistics released in February 2022 showed that 11 315 people were raped between October and December 2021,” she said.

“The statistics also show that over 120 women were raped each day in South Africa and more than five women raped every hour.”

She also said there were hundreds of organisations countrywide trying their utmost best to deal with this secondary pandemic.

However, due to the lack of resources and financial assistance there was only so much they could do.

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This after Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, the minister in the presidency responsible for women, youth, and persons with disabilities, said the department was planning on training of more than 25 000 young people to be youth entrepreneurs.

She said in the 2022-2023 financial year, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) will:

• Target supporting 2 000 youth-owned enterprises with financial assistance, and create 6 000 jobs in the economy;
• Provide skills development programmes to 75 000 young people to enable them to enter the economy; and
• Place 10 000 young people in jobs through the National Pathway Management Network.
• Recruit 50 000 young people in the structured National Youth Service where young people will earn an income, learn skills and increase their employability, and
• Offer meaningful quality service to communities.

However, when asked about a lack of resources and funding, director-general of the department Mikateko Maluleke said funding was up to the department of social development and that many organisations were no longer receiving funding as they could not account for it.

People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa) communications manager Thandiwe McCloy said many women were stuck in abusive relationships because they depend on the perpetrator to survive.

“Having skills will assist them to break the cycle of abuse, grow their confidence, unleash their potential and develop hope in the future. “I’m happy the first groups of survivors have completed their training,” she said.