Chairperson, I hereby give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council -
(1) notes with great concern the contempt displayed by certain Ministries towards the answering of questions within 10 working days of their appearance on the Question Papers, according to Rule 239 of the NCOP;
(2) further notes that some questions which appeared during April and May 2000 remain unanswered to this day, even after a huge attempt, via correspondence to the Ministries asking for their urgent replies;
(3) wishes to bring to the attention that a question to a Minister is specifically to obtain information relating to the public affairs with which he or she is officially connected or any matter of administration for which he or she is responsible; and
(4) expresses its concern that the contempt displayed by certain Ministries damages - (a) the status and authority of this Council;
(b) the principle of transparency; and
(c) the right to information.