Short-listing of candidates for Appointment of Board Members to NYDA: meeting postponed

National Youth Development Agency appointments

28 November 2016
Chairperson: Ms G Manopole (ANC, NCOP) and Mr M Mapulane (ANC, NA)
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Meeting Summary

The Ad Hoc Joint Committee on Appointment of Board Members to the National Youth Development Agency could not proceed with the short-listing of candidates because it could not form a quorum even though Rule 27 of the Joint Rules stated the meeting could proceed with the business of the day whether there was a quorum or not as long as there were sufficient Members.Opposition Members proposed that all the 487 curriculum vitae should be made available to all Members.ANC Members indicated they did not need all the CVs for short-listing, and argued that the provided summaries of the curriculum vitaewould be enough to do the job of short-listing. Opposition Members felt it would be a discrepancy not to look at all the curriculum vitae. It appeared that the ANC Members had already pre-selected the candidates they wanted. In the end, the Committee agreed to ask for an extension of the term of the Committee and noted the 6 December 2016 deadline would not be met.

Meeting report

Discussion
Mr M Mohapi (ANC) wanted to know which Members should serve on the Committee together with the list of alternatives, because this was an Ad Hoc Joint Committee.

The Committee Secretary read out the list of Members who were supposed to sit in the Committee, including the one alternate Member.

Mr Mohapi remarked that the EFF was supposed to be represented by Dr Chewane, not Mr Ndlozi.

Mr M Ndlozi (EFF) explained that he had communicated with the Committee Secretary about his membership as an alternate. He did not understand why the matter had not been resolved. He had also only received the documents at 2pm while the discussion was going to start at 5pm.

Ms R Lesoma (ANC) stated an issue was raised in the previous meeting that a person who had to partake in the work of the Committee must not be a freelancer because he/she might delay the work of the Committee. The issue was not about Mr Ndlozi.

Ms Manopole stated the issue was about consistency, not to rehash what was discussed in the previous meeting. In principle, the Committee agreed the administration should resolve the matter of Mr Ndlozi before the next meeting.

Mr Ndlozi said he was portrayed as not a Member of the Committee. Minutes of the previous meeting were not in the documents given to him so that he could familiarise himself with decisions taken, and he had tried to communicate with the Committee Secretary regarding his membership and documentation.

Mr Mohapi said a submission was made that the meeting should continue as planned according to the rules.

Ms Manopole asked the Committee Secretary to verify if there was a quorum for the meeting.

Ms Manopole read the Members Rule 27 of the Joint Rules regarding the quorum. She said the Rule stated the meeting could proceed with the business of the day whether there was a quorum or not.

Mr Y Cassim (DA) remarked that if the short-listing is not done correctly, it would compromise the process. The Committee was not empowered to take decisions because it did not make a quorum. There were insufficient Members but the Members present could not decide on the criteria and quality to be considered for short-listing.

Mr Ndlozi asked how many Members were supposed to be in the meeting.

Ms Manopole said it was 21, including the alternate. Rule 27 did not speak about the numbers, it only spoke about “sufficient Members”. The Committee needed to clarify the meaning of “sufficient”.

Mr Mapulane stated the Committee faced two difficulties. The first was the issue of the quorum to allow them to take decisions. This necessitated the Committeenot to proceed with the meeting. The second matter related to Mr Ndlozi’s concern that no sufficient time was given to him to go through the list of applicants because he received the documents and CVs very late at about 2pm while the meeting was scheduled for 5pm. He proposed the Committee adjourn and indicated this would take them off the timeline given to the Committee. A request would be made to extend the term of the Committee. The EFF membership matter would be ATC’d (Announcements, Tablings Committee reports) and finalised.

Mr Ndlozi said it was safe for Members to express themselves on the administration mayhem. He had been communicating with the secretariat regarding the documentation and rules in order to stick to the timetable. All the CVs should be circulated to Members. The Chairperson should lead them in this regard. The agenda was printed without minutes. The meeting was cancelled because there was no quorum The Chief Whip should reign on its Members because half of the ANC Members were not in attendance yet they are paid to do the work. That was embarrassing. The Chairperson should lead Members decisively throughout the process.

Mr Cassim stated the work of the Committee should not conflict with the work of the Members in other committees. There were 487 applicants’ CVs the Committee had to go through. It was unreasonable for Members to receive work to be discussed at 5pm at 2pm. There was a need to make the work of the Committee meaningful.

Ms Lesoma hoped the opposition was not schooling the Committee. Its concerns should be genuine. The Committee needed to ensure the legal advisors attend Committee meetings at all times to avoid misunderstandings regarding legal matters. She further noted not all Members were interested in all the 487 CVs. Those Members wanting 487 CVs should indicate if they want those CVs, and those who wanedt less CVs should also state so.

Ms Manana pointed out that if the meeting could be postponed, that would give the administration enough time to work on the documents. She differed with Mr Ndlozi on ANC Members who were not in the meeting. It could be that some of them did not get the information, even if they are getting paid to do the work.

Mr Mohapiindicated the summaries with the CV were enough for short-listing. The CVs could be made available during the interviews of short-listed candidates. It was not correct for the meeting to conclude that the reason there was no quorum was because ANC Members did not attend. All parties had sent apologies.

Ms Manopole assured Members that CVs and list of candidates would be made available to everyone. Those who did not want all the CVs should indicate. Copies would be available in both hard and soft/electronic formats.

Mr Ndlozi said the summaries of the CVs were not timeous. He asked the CVs and a full print of the applicants to be delivered to his office 48 hours before the start of the meeting, even the criteria for designing the summaries was never discussed.

Ms Manopole stated the issue of administration should be elevated to the Committee Chairpersons in order to be addressed and to get more committee assistants to avoid the re-occurrence of the problems. The Co-Chairpersons should be given time to come up with the date, and notices would be sent 48 hours before the meeting. Members should stop fighting over immaterial issues.

Mr Cassim said the summaries were fine but he differed with the Co-Chairperson when that the matters were not material. It was material how Members weretreated as the process continued. If a Member were interrupted while speaking and another Member interrupted in the process, that was a material issue. Let the Committee have a meaningful engagement during its life. No matter how repetitive what one was saying, one must be given time to express oneself fairly.

Mr S Jafta (ANC) pointed out that it was clear some Members were not interested in some of the applicants’ CVs. That would be a discrepancy. Members should consider all the applications.

Mr Mohapi said the Co-Chairperson has made it clear that CVs would be made available to all Members. The matter should be left to the Co-Chairpersons.

Ms Manopole stated she had observed that Members were agreeing with each other. No one was being treated differently, and they all wanted the Board of the NYDA to be established. The Co-Chairpersons would look at the date that would suit all the Members and issue a notice. Those who sought access to the documents should speak to the secretariat. Hard and soft copies would be given to Members.

The meeting was adjourned.       
 

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