Committee Legacy Report: Committee Support Staff briefing

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International Relations

21 August 2019
Chairperson: Ms T Mahambehlala (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Committee Legacy Report

The Committee was provided with background on the activities of the Fifth Parliament Committee from 2014 to 2019. These included Committee meetings, oversight visits and international study tours.
The Committee was at the outset informed that it had to decide which issues from the Legacy Report it
wished to prioritise for inclusion in its strategic plan. The Legacy Report stated that one of the major challenges that the Fifth Parliament Committee faced was the oversight model of Parliament. The oversight model only allowed four oversight visits per year which included local oversight visits to provinces. This hampered the Fifth Parliament Committee from completely fulfilling its mandate to perform oversight over the DIRCO which in the main included oversight over missions abroad. The Committee was given insight into many other types of oversight visits which the Fifth Parliament Committee should have undertaken but was not able to do. The oversight model of Parliament also only allowed the Fifth Parliament Committee to undertake one international study tour in five years. The oversight model became a serious challenge and impediment to the Fifth Parliament Committee. It was something that the Committee needed to look into. Issues which the Fifth Parliament Committee had observed about DIRCO were also brought to the Committee’s attention as it affected the performance of DIRCO. One such issue was that the DIRCO had a reduced budget and its operations were seriously affected by foreign exchange fluctuations. The problem was that the budget of DIRCO was fixed. It was an issue which too needed the attention of the Committee. The Fifth Parliament Committee also recognised the importance of economic diplomacy, public diplomacy etc and wished for efforts to continue in this regard. Certain issues like Brexit and the hotspot conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mali still continued and members would be kept abreast of developments. Members were encouraged to look at pages 14 and 17 of the Legacy Report which provided greater detail on future areas of work for the Committee as well as recommendations made by its predecessor.

Members felt it not only important to enhance the role of missions abroad in getting SA’s messages across but that efforts should also be made within SA. A good place to start was to look at language usage in Committee Reports. Members questioned why in the Legacy Report were issues of Palestine and Morocco raised whereas no mention was made of China and the USA. Members suggested the prioritisation of diplomatic training for members on diplomacy. There was a need to be more diplomatic. Members agreed that an oversight visit to the United Nations was long overdue. Members asked in what way were South African businesses being discriminated against overseas. What were the challenges that the DIRCO faced in implementing SA’s foreign policy? Members asked why the DIRCO was hanging onto dilapidated buildings when it could easily sell them. Were any other countries besides SA contributing towards the accommodation of the Pan African Parliament? Members also asked where diplomats were currently being trained on diplomacy. Members observed that there were many issues under the recommendations contained in the Legacy Report which the Committee would have to continue to work on. Members suggested that the Committee’s strategic planning session be scheduled as soon as possible so that the Committee could engage on issues. Members felt it necessary for DIRCO to provide members with detail on issues like Brexit and European Union relations which could be useful during the Committee’s planning session. DIRCO also needed to provide the Committee with a contextual brief on continental matters. The Committee additionally had to be enlightened on what the issues were on SA’s involvement in international fora. Members felt that the Committee as a matter of urgency needed to deal with the issue of the oversight model of parliament. The challenges faced by DIRCO also needed to be looked at. Members further felt that the restructuring of the ARF had to be speeded up. 

Meeting report

Committee Legacy Report: Committee Support Staff briefing
Mr Lubabalo Sigwela Committee, Secretary briefly spoke to the activities of the Fifth Parliament Committee from 2014 to 2019. These included Committee meetings, oversight visits and international study tours. He provided detail of the four oversight trips and the one international study tour that the Fifth Parliament Committee had undertaken.

Ms Lineo Mosala Committee Content Adviser, continued with the presentation. She said that it was up to the Committee to decide on which issues from the Legacy Report it wished to prioritise for inclusion in its strategic plan. One of the major challenges that the Fifth Parliament Committee faced was the oversight model of Parliament. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) mainly functioned abroad via its missions. The Fifth Parliament Committee’s mandate was mainly to do oversight over the DIRCO but it could not monitor missions abroad as it should have. Oversight visits to missions had to be done even if it was done twice a year regionally. The oversight model of Parliament only allowed four oversight visits per year which included local oversight visits to provinces. Investigative oversights to areas like Israel-Palestine etc were also needed so that Members could see first-hand what was happening on the ground. Other oversights that should be done included visits to the headquarters of DIRCO and the United Nations as well as to project areas of the African Renaissance Fund (ARF). ARF project areas had to be visited by the Committee as Members could not only rely on information received from the Executive.

Ms Mosala pointed out that SA sat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2019 and in 2020. In October 2019 SA was to chair the UNSC. The Committee needed to do a supervisory oversight to the UNSC. The oversight model of Parliament also only allowed the Fifth Parliament Committee to undertake one international study tour in five years. The oversight model became a serious challenge to the Fifth Parliament Committee. It was something that the Committee needed to look into.

Ms Mosala highlighted matters that the Fifth Parliament Committee had observed about the DIRCO. The Department had a reduced budget and its operations were seriously affected by foreign exchange fluctuations. The problem was that the budget of the DIRCO was fixed. It was an issue which needed the attention of the Committee. The Fifth Parliament Committee had recommended that DIRCO meet with National Treasury to resolve the matter. DIRCO also had supply chain issues, its asset register was not up to date and its Information Communication Technology (ICT) was obsolete. The Fifth Parliament Committee had also suggested that DIRCO purchase properties abroad due to the high costs of leasing. DIRCO also had vacant properties abroad. Progress on these properties had to be checked on by the Committee. SA had also offered to host the headquarters of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) which had not as yet happened. The DIRCO had to bear the cost of providing accommodation to the PAP. The planned migration of the African Renaissance Fund (ARF) to the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA) had also not been realised. The problem with the ARF was that it was demand driven; the Fifth Parliament Committee felt that the new agency needed to be proactive. The ARF also did not have its own operational policies as it utilised the policies of the DIRCO. The ARF reported to the Director General of the DIRCO which essentially meant that the Director General was reporting to himself. A recommendation in the Legacy Report was made that the Committee had to undertake an international study tour to look at best practises in countries like the UK, Canada, Sweden etc on how a development agency like SADPA should function. The USA also had different models that could be considered. The Fifth Parliament Committee understood the importance of economic diplomacy to drive the economy of SA. Recommendations were also made that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and DIRCO should deploy trade attaches in strategic countries for maximum benefit. On the participation of the DIRCO on international fora like the United Nations and the African Union, she said that the issue was around what influence the participation had on discussions in those organisations. In 2020 SA would assume chairmanship of the African Union. The Fifth Parliament Committee stressed the importance of having proactive public diplomacy to curb misunderstanding and negative narratives of SA’s position on international affairs. Continuous work needed to be done to improve the image of SA. The Fifth Parliament Committee had expressed concern about South Africans going missing abroad. There had previously been the Registration of South Africans Abroad (ROSA) whereby South Africans could voluntarily register at SA’s missions abroad. It had not been met with great success but given that South Africans were still going missing the Committee should encourage efforts on registration. DIRCO had launched a smart travel kit which the Committee should also popularise.  Greater consultation and cooperation was needed between departments, provinces and local government when they went abroad. Cabinet felt that the DIRCO needed to be consulted and should coordinate things. The problem was that it was difficult for the DIRCO to get buy-in from departments, provinces and local government. Certain issues like Brexit and the hotspot conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mali still continued. She encouraged members to look at pages 14 and 17 of the Legacy Report which provided greater detail on future areas of work for the Committee as well as recommendations made by its predecessor.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked that Members, when interrogating the Legacy Report, should focus on the recommendations made by the Committee’s predecessor. Members could nevertheless raise issues if they so wished.

Mr D Bergman (DA) said that it was not only about the enhancement of the role of missions abroad in getting messages across but that efforts should also start within SA. He felt that there was a need to look at the language that was used in Committee Reports. One should be mindful of the language used. Why were issues of Palestine and Morocco raised in the Legacy Report but no mention was made of China and the USA. He suggested the prioritisation of diplomatic training for members on diplomacy. There was a need to be more diplomatic. He agreed with what was being stated in the Legacy Report that the Committee never had an opportunity to do oversight over the African Union and the United Nations on decisions that the organisations took. He suggested that the Committee prioritise an oversight visit to the United Nations.

Ms Mosala said that the training of members would be discussed in the strategic planning session of the Committee. During the Fifth Parliament the Committee had done training with the University of Johannesburg. Areas of training included diplomacy, protocol training, etiquette etc.

Mrs T Msane (EFF) asked in what way were South African businesses being discriminated against overseas. What were the challenges that the DIRCO faced in implementing SA’s foreign policy? She asked what the role of Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuba as the Executive Director of UN Women was.

Ms Mosala felt that many of the questions by Members could be better answered by the DIRCO. On the discrimination of South African companies abroad, she stated that it was even difficult for South African companies to gain entry into markets abroad. Challenges faced by South African companies included stringent requirements etc. For instance the South African cell phone network provider MTN had faced obstacles in entering the Nigerian market. This was due to the strained relationship between SA and Nigeria at the time. On the other side of the coin there were also reports of discriminatory practices by South African companies abroad. Case in point was allegations against OK stores in Zambia over the treatment of locally recruited staff. These were all issues that the Committee needed to look at. 

Rev K Meshoe (ACDP) asked why the DIRCO simply did not sell its dilapidated buildings. On SA providing accommodation for the Pan African Parliament (PAP), he asked which other countries contributed towards it. He also asked where diplomats were currently trained on diplomacy. 

Ms Mosala explained that in terms of the Government Immoveable Asset Management (GIAMA) Act
the disposal of property was the responsibility of the Department of Public Works (DPW). The reason why properties had as yet not been disposed of was because the DIRCO and the DPW could not agree on processes. The issue had however been resolved. It was now for the Committee to monitor the maintenance policies, budget and capacity of DIRCO to run properties. Diplomats were currently trained at a diplomatic academy. The training was however on a small scale. The Foreign Service Bill wished to put a fully-fledged training institution in place as Canada had. Institutions of Higher Learning would certify diplomats as well. Training would be compulsory for diplomats.

Mr B Nkosi (ANC) stated that there were many issues raised under the recommendations contained in the Legacy Report which the Committee would have to continue to work on. He said that DIRCO needed to provide the Committee with detail over matters like Brexit and European Union relations etc which could be useful during the Committee’s planning session. DIRCO should additionally provide a contextual brief on continental matters like the Grand Inga Hydroelectric Project. The Committee additionally needed to be enlightened on what the issues were on SA’s involvement in international fora.

Mr T Mpanza (ANC) suggested that the Committee have its strategic planning session as soon as possible so that it could engage on issues. The Legacy Report had shed light on areas of urgent oversight as well as on many outstanding issues. The Committee as a matter of urgency also needed to deal with the matter of the oversight model of parliament. The challenges within the five programmes of the DIRCO had to be looked at. The restructuring of the African Renaissance Fund (ARF) had to be speeded up.

Ms Mosala stated that members had mainly made comments and that the Committee could engage with the DIRCO at a later stage on outstanding matters.

Committee Minutes
Minutes dated 2 and 3 July 2019 was adopted as amended.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

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