TRC Final Report

Volume 6

Section 6

Part CEO_Report

Subsection 1

Volume SIX SectionS I X

Report of the Chief Executive Officer

■ INTRODUCTION

1. The activities of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the Commission) were suspended on 28 October 1998. Notwithstanding this suspension, the Amnesty Committee had to continue with its functions until a date determined by proclamation by the President. In addition, the Amnesty Committee was required to take over certain duties and functions of the other two statutory Committees, namely the Committee on Human Rights Violations (HRVC) and the Committee on Reparation and Rehabilitation (RRC). These duties were related to matters that had not been finalised before 31 July 1998, excluding enquiries and hearings and matters emanating from the amnesty process. To assist the Amnesty Committee in this regard, the President appointed two existing Commissioners to that Committee.

2. In 1988 an amendment to the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act No. 34 of 1995 (the Act) gave the President the power to reconvene the Commission to consider the Committee’s report and determine a date for the dissolution of the Commission. On 16 November 2001, the President determined 31 March 2002 as the date for the final dissolution of the Commission.¹

3. The responsibility conferred by the amendment was far from simple. Indeed, the forty months that followed the suspension of the Commission were in many ways as challenging and in certain instances even more difficult and strenuous than the thirty-two months prior to the suspension. The Amnesty Committee became the administrative and operational centre of the Commission but was, at the same time, faced with drastic cuts in funding and human resources. It was also under continuous pressure to finalise the outstanding work in the shortest possible time, while at the same time being expected to deliver a product that would serve as a solution to national problems, especially with regard to the victims of gross human rights violations. Statistics show that more correspondence, telephonic enquiries and personal interviews with or in connection with victims were attended to after 1998 than before.

4. During this period the Commission experienced three events that affected the administrative operations of the Commission:

a Following the resignation of the former CEO, the Commission appointed Advocate Martin Coetzee as CEO with effect from 1May 1999.

b During June 1999, Dr P Maduna MP replaced Dr AM Omar MP as Minister of Justice and as minister responsible for the Commission.

c On 18 August 2000, Judge H Mall, Chairperson of the Amnesty Committee, passed away.

5. This report represents an effort by the chief executive officer (CEO) to reflect on the operational and administrative functions of the Commission for the period November 1998 to March 2002. Although an independent report, it may be read in conjunction with the report of the CEO in the Commission’s Final Report², as matters dealt with in that report will not be revisited. It should also be read in conjunction with the report of the Executive Secretary of the Amnesty Committee.³

6. The section following this report contains the managerial reports of the various departments within the Commission (Legal, Information Technology, Media and Finance). These reports may also be read with the corresponding sections in the Final Report.⁴