PARLIAMENT - The geographic boundaries of the Black Authorities Act (BAA), while having been expunged from the statute books, remain firmly in place through the complex myriad of post-apartheid legislation, the SA Human Rights Commission said yesterday.

In a presentation to the rural development and land reform portfolio committee, the commission said that if the issue of boundaries is not properly addressed, constitutional provisions calling for land tenure will not be adequately given effect to.

In 2003 and 2004 Parliament passed the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act (TLGFA) and the Communal Land Rights Act (Clara), and it is processing the Traditional Courts Bill (TCA).

The TLGFA and the Clara entrenched in post-apartheid South Africa the boundaries enshrined in the BAA, the HRC said.

These pieces of legislation entrench patriarchal systems of leadership and land administration, perpetuating discrimination against women, it added.

It urged Parliament to address the anomaly that the "tribal boundary" system entrenched through the BAA is further given effect to in the TLGFA, Clara and TCB.

The committee is holding public hearings on the proposed repeal of the 1951 BAA, one of the cornerstones of apartheid.

The Legal Resources Centre said the repeal of the BAA should not merely be a formal exercise, but should open the way for a new system of rural traditional leadership to be established, consistent with all constitutional principles and values.

The committee also heard from the KZN Rural Women's Movement, who said that under the current system, the local chief "unilaterally controls community resources and access to land".