Portfolio Committee minimum membership even smaller

Yesterday's National Assembly Rules Committee meeting chaired by Speaker Balaleka Mbete saw the consideration of the report by the Task Team set up to consider clustering Portfolio Committees (PCs). As reported by People’s Assembly yesterday, the Task Team rejected the proposal.

Reporting back on behalf of the Task Team, the ANC’s Mzameni Mdakane said the Task Team found that all PCs should mirror the appointed ministries with the exception of the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation portfolio, which will be clustered with Public Service and Administration. This proposal will result in the creation of 32 PCs (previously 33). Furthermore, it was not necessary to have a PC for Treasury or State Security as the Standing Committees on Finance as well as Appropriations and the Joint Committee on Intelligence already provided parliamentary oversight on those departments.

Mdakane explained that the Task Team proposed that the composition of PCs be changed from 13 to 11 Members, with the ANC represented by six Members, the DA by two Members and the EFF by one Member. The last two places would be allocated to minority parties. If committees needed to vote on a particular issue, it means a quorum of six Members is needed. Prior to 2009, the minimum membership per committee was 16 Members. Poor attendance at a committee meeting by a Member will now become more obvious.

The reduction will require an amendment to National Assembly Rule 200(2), which currently states that a PC must have no fewer than 13 and no more than 40 Members.

After a handful of procedural questions - such as EFF’s Floyd Shivumbu asking whether MPs can sit on both standing committees and be Members of PCs (the answer being yes), ANC Chief Whip Stone Sizani moved that the Committee adopt the report, which was seconded. The report will now go before the National Assembly.

In other matters, Freedom Front Plus MP, Cornelius Mulder, requested clarity on the formula that would be used in the appointment of whips. The House Secretary then explained that there would be one whip to every seven Members, which would see the ANC getting 36 whips, the DA 13, the EFF four, and the IFP, NPF, UDM, FF+ receiving one whip each. Agang, ACDP and the rest of the minority parties combined, get two whips.

After the meeting People’s Assembly asked convenor of the Task Team, Mr Mdakane, why they chose to have PCs composed of fewer MPs. He replied, “All the parties agreed. By reducing the numbers it will ensure that members serve in not more than two committees so they can specialise. A MP's workload is very heavy so this should ensure that committees are efficient and functioning.”

When asked if they were disappointed that they were not guaranteed a seat on each committee, IFP’s Narend Singh told People’s Assembly: “We are comfortable with the change. We have ten Members so if they sit on two PCs each then we will be represented in 20 committees. Problems may arise if there are clashes with other small opposition parties but so far we are working well with other parties. Alone, we wouldn’t be able to do justice to all the committees.”