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The Portfolio Committee has concluded a successful public participation process on the Marriage Bill [B43-2023] in Gauteng following public hearings in Vosloorus, Tshwane, West Rand and Midvaal. The committee is confident that valuable inputs were received, which will empower the committee when it considers the Bill. In Gauteng, the committee divided into two groups to ensure greater reach and enable a greater number of contributions from South Africans. 
 
In Sedibeng District Municipality, residents called for a review of section 5(1) of the Bill, which proposes that only those who are 18 years and older be allowed to enter into marriage. While the Bill received mixes reviews in Sedibeng, there was consensus on the necessity of protecting young children from early marriage. However, the was also a strong call for the proposed legal age requirement to be increased to 21, which participants said would ensure that individuals are mature and economically stable enough for the rigours of marriage.
 
There was also a concern that the penalties proposed in Section 17 of the Bill are insufficient to prevent the marriages of young children. Participants suggested strongly that the committee should consider removing the provision of a fine and only legislate imprisonment for perpetrators. They said the option of a fine might undermine this provision, as well-off perpetrators could easily afford to pay a fine.  
 
Meanwhile, a substantial number of participants argued for strengthening the legislation relating to marriages between South Africans and foreign nationals. Many participants argued that the Bill must make provision for a process before marriage that includes a waiting period of a minimum one year and an intensive investigation into the marital status of the foreign national before they are allowed to enter into a marriage with a South African national.
 
Some participants also called for more emphasis on creating an environment conducive to reducing the high unemployment rate, which forces South Africans into fake marriages in order to make ends meet.
    
There were concerns that expanding the category of marriages officers has the potential to lead to more fake marriages. While participants accepted the need for inclusivity, they argued that the associated risk could be avoided by retaining the limited scope of marriage officers. Furthermore, some participants argued that the penalty proposed in Section 17 (3) was unfair to marriage officers, as they might be duped into officiating at the marriage of an underage person, thereby unwittingly breaking the provisions of the Bill.
 
Some participants, meanwhile, argued that the Bill seeks to adopt Western practices that will dilute local cultural and religious practices. Participants argued that the current legal framework provided the necessary legal certainty that the Marriage Bill seeks to provide and that there is no reason for the rationalisation of the laws to create one umbrella marriage law, which this new Bill proposes.
 
Meanwhile, similar to submissions in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, there was a call for the Bill to include cohabiting arrangements. Participants argued that the lived reality is that many people are no longer interested in marriage and choose to cohabit instead. They called for legal protection of individuals who invest time, resources and energy in cohabiting arrangements.
 
The committee was pleased with the quality of submissions made and the number of individuals and organisations participating in the Gauteng public hearings. “This public participation process has once again reaffirmed the value of public participation in law making. We are confident that the residents of Gauteng meaningfully contributed to this Bill and their views will be considered when the committee considers all public submissions,” said Mr Mosa Chabane, the Chairperson of the committee.
 
Following the conclusion of the Gauteng public hearings, the committee will early next year continue with public hearings in other provinces.   

Issued by the Parliamentary communication Services on behalf of the chairperson of the portfolio committee on Home Affairs, Mosa Chabane