Hon Dambuza is the next speaker, but I wish to take this opportunity to welcome the members of parliament from Mozambique sitting on my right-hand side. You are most welcome. [Applause.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, section 43(a) of the Constitution of 1996 vests the legislative authority of the national sphere of government in Parliament. In terms of section 42(1) of the Constitution, Parliament consists of two Houses: the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
Whilst the National Assembly is elected to represent the people and ensure government by the people under the Constitution, the National Council of Provinces represents the provinces to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government.
Thus, the role and ultimate objective of Parliament is to represent the people of South Africa and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution, as well as to represent the provinces in the national sphere of government. This mandate is achieved by passing legislation, overseeing government action, facilitating public involvement in its work, participating in and overseeing co-operative government and participating in international relations.
The vision of Parliament is to build an effective people's Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people, and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa.
The key political mandate of the ANC in legislatures and governance is to advance the national democratic revolution and building a developmental state in pursuit of the ANC vision of a united, nonracial, nonsexist and democratic society. The ANC-led government is committed to a strategic orientation of being a developmental state that is people-centred, building the capacity of all citizens, thus including women, the youth and people with disabilities to lead in defining a common national agenda. It is, therefore, the responsibility of Parliament to constantly monitor and oversee the state's capacity in relation to its structures and systems to facilitate the realisation of the set agenda.
The state also has to develop technical capacity to translate broad objectives into programmes and projects. It is important to note that where people are not involved in the decisions that affect their lives, social policies and political interventions are less likely to succeed. Participatory democracy should, therefore, complement and enhance representative democracy.
The current democratic dispensation inherited the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. To address this challenge requires a number of interventions, some within the budget and some in the form of change in the regulatory environment. Parliament acknowledges the adoption of the five key Apex Priorities by government, which have been translated into outcomes-based programmes. Critical to this is the issue of education, which is vitally important in making a greater portion of the population employable.
In response to this, Parliament welcomes the fact that the biggest portion of the national Budget is allocated to education. Parliament has to ensure that it intensifies its oversight in ensuring the efficient and cost- effective expenditure of this budget. The current education budget reflects a holistic approach to addressing the needs of socially vulnerable children, which includes the National School Nutrition Programme, scholar transport and no-fee schools.
We also have to acknowledge progress made in respect of the education targets of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs. However, through its oversight and, more importantly, for the poor, the youth and socially vulnerable, Parliament has identified the dropout rate as still being a concern.
Earlier this year the President, in his state of the nation address, announced a massive infrastructure investment over the next few years. Parliament is of the view that such an investment will have a positive impact on the lives of the poor, socially vulnerable, and especially on rural communities in terms of their changing to a better quality of life.
We note that there are three years remaining before we reach the 2015 target of achieving the eight MDGs. Parliament plays a major role in overseeing the country's progress towards achieving the MDGs. In this respect, our oversight should intensify over the next few years, also ensuring that government departments report on progress made, and that this progress is reflected in their strategic plans and budget allocations.
The MDGs are, of course, not mutually exclusive of South Africa's own developmental targets, such as universal access to basic services, including sanitation. This, of course, means that Parliament should further strengthen its oversight support to committees, not only to ensure that targets are met, but so that socially vulnerable groups, including women, the youth and people with disabilities, benefit in terms of access to job- creation opportunities, improving the skills base and supporting small businesses.
The concentration on job creation is important in that it highlights urgent and fundamental transformation of a variety of interconnected political and socioeconomic issues. Through its legislative function, Parliament also ensures that the needs of socially vulnerable groups are advanced. For example, this Parliament has passed some pieces of legislation, such as the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Bill and the Community Schemes Ombud Service Bill, which were processed during 2011, and which will endeavour to cut the cost of settling disputes between parties internally, as poor households do not have the financial resources for expensive court litigation.
The National Health Amendment Bill currently before the Portfolio Committee on Health will appoint an ombudsperson to deal with complaints relating to health facilities. In this way, the poor will have a voice when not satisfied with services rendered to them. The passing of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act provides an opportunity for Parliament to amend budgets.
Leyo nto-ke ichaza ukuthi izidingo zabantu abadla imbuya ngothi zizokwazi ukubhekeleleka. [That means that the needs of poverty-stricken people will be considered.]
We would also like to acknowledge processes, to date, with regard to the National Health Insurance, aimed at ensuring more equitable access to health services; essentially, health for all citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay.
Parliament's 2012-13 Budget Vote reconfirms its commitment to strengthening its oversight function, increasing public involvement and participation, and strengthening co-operative governance. In order to achieve these objectives, Parliament has to strengthen its capacity in implementing the Oversight and Accountability Model, the appointment of content advisers, increasing the capacity of legal resource services to support a multidisciplinary function for committees, and developing the requisite skills to improve resources, especially when committees are involved in public participation and improving institutional knowledge. Parliament is committed to reaching out to all members of the public, especially ensuring that the voices of the poor and those in rural communities are heard. Therefore the current process towards a public participation model will remain a key priority for the Fourth Parliament.
However, we acknowledge that in order for Parliament to give effect to its mandate as a people's Parliament, we cannot accept a situation in which the necessary support to parliamentary committees remains inadequate. In this respect we have observed that the division regarded as the engine of Parliament, which is the Legislation and Oversight Division - Programme 2, has a vacancy rate of almost 20%. Various divisions in Parliament also warrant closer scrutiny when it comes to vacancies.
While Parliament is committed to responding to the President's commitment to reducing vacancies in government departments, we also need to ensure that our own house is in order. Speaking about the public sector, Parliament's oversight focus should also include the pace of transformation in the culture of the Public Service, especially in respect of Batho Pele.
I would like to reflect on the role of a national democratic state. Nation- building and social cohesion have always been a priority of the current government. Let us, however, remind ourselves that social cohesion and nation-building of a national democratic society also depend on the extent to which the rights of those in the lower echelons of the socioeconomic ladder are protected.
Further, a national democratic state should continually implement integrated antipoverty programmes, ensuring that it addresses, not only social assistance, but also the sustainable integration of all communities into economic activity.
Yiyo ke loo nto iPalamente kufuneka iqinisekise ukuba idlala indima ebalulekileyo. [That's why Parliament must ensure it plays an important role.]
To deal with inequality, poverty and unemployment, the state, private capital, co-operatives and other social forms of ownership should complement each other in an integrated way to achieve shared economic growth. We have to achieve higher levels of economic growth and ensure it benefits all sectors of society, especially the poor.
Parliament should also strengthen its oversight over the conditions of farm workers and farm dwellers in order to prevent human rights violations. In this regard there is clearly a need for Parliament to review existing legislation, such as the Extension of Security of Tenure Act and other relevant legislation.
Whilst acknowledging the global environment in which the country is operating, there is a need for Parliament to ensure closer oversight on how international agreements and treaties signed by government impact on the lives of the poor and socially vulnerable groups.
It is also important to note that women and children are disproportionally affected by the consequences of climate change, as are people living in informal settlements and rural areas. Female-headed and single-parent households are most at risk of being affected by extreme weather conditions, such as flooding and storms. They are also less likely to have financial resources that can act as a buffer against such events and to recover financially.
Parliament takes cognisance of the issues raised by the National Development Plan published during 2011. The National Development Plan highlights progress and challenges in respect of a number of issues, including ensuring social protection. The plan notes that a seven-point plan has been adopted to establish a new, modernised, efficient and transformed criminal justice system.
It should be noted that Parliament has engaged with the plan, which resulted in the drafting of committee cluster reports as well as discussions with respective departments through the parliamentary committees. Parliament's oversight responsibility, of course, extends to challenges and the proposals contained in the National Development Plan to ensure that the poorest of the poor also benefit from its implementation.
Parliament has demonstrated its commitment to prioritising issues affecting women, children, the youth and people with disabilities through programmes such as "Taking Parliament to the People" and the People's Assembly. Through the work of sectoral parliaments, including the Youth Parliament and the Women's Parliament, the voices of socially vulnerable persons have clearly been heard by Parliament, and their issues have been channelled through the various committees in Parliament. The adoption of co-ordinated oversight by committees is more than welcome as it provides effective utilisation of resources and better alignment.
In conclusion, in building a people-centred Parliament, Parliament should develop programmes geared towards educating the public about the various parliamentary processes. Parliament should sensitise the public on how legislative processes are carried out and how people on the ground can meaningfully contribute through public submissions, etc. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 2. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Speaker and colleagues, I want to start by making two observations. When I look at the speakers' list of today, I think we are making history. You can go and check. I say it's the first time in the history of Parliament, even since 1910, that neither the Chief Whip nor the Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party is participating in the debate on the Budget Vote of Parliament. I don't know why they are not participating. I don't know what it means, but to me it says something.
The second observation I would like to make is that the Leader of Government Business should attend this debate. If there is one debate that I think the Leader of Government Business should attend - except for the debate on the Presidency - it is the debate on Parliament, because the Leader of Government Business is the link of the executive with Parliament itself.
Hon Speaker and Deputy Chairperson, the legislative authority of the Republic on a national level vests in Parliament. This in itself makes Parliament a rather important institution. However, we run the risk of making Parliament irrelevant in the eyes of the public. Parliament, as far as I am concerned, has become boring, dull and a place of mediocrity. This we cannot blame on the public, or the electorate, or the media. We, the politicians operating within our political parties and within the structures of Parliament, should accept and take full responsibility for this unfortunate state of affairs.
The Constitution in section 42(3) clearly states the task of the National Assembly. The National Assembly is elected to represent the people and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution - by doing what? By choosing the President - we have done that - and by providing a national forum for public consideration of issues. In that, we have completely failed - utterly failed - by passing legislation even when we are out of ideas, since most legislation was passed during the First, Second and Third Parliaments. And the National Assembly is elected to represent the people and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution by scrutinising and overseeing executive action.
The National Assembly is supposed to represent the people. Are we doing this? Why do I think that Parliament is becoming irrelevant in the eyes of the electorate? So many things are happening out there on a daily basis that affect the lives of all our citizens, but Parliament is silent. We have nothing to say. We are failing the Constitution and our citizens in this regard.
The Rules of the House make provision for us to fulfil our constitutional obligation to act as a national representative forum of the people for the consideration of issues. Rule 103 makes provision for debates on matters of public importance. During the term of the current Fourth Parliament, which started in April 2009, we have not had a single debate on a single matter of public importance in more than three years. The last one was during the Third Parliament. Since then, one would think that nothing of public importance happened in the Republic of South Africa. Parliament should have expressed itself, but it didn't.
Rule 104 makes provision for debates on matters of urgent public importance. During the term of the current Fourth Parliament, we also have had in more than three years not a single debate on a matter of urgent public importance. Just think of the e-toll saga, the youth subsidy, the recent painting of the President, all the service delivery demonstrations, farm murders, eight schools burnt down in this month alone in the Eastern Cape, the Bheki Cele and Mdluli sagas, the nondelivery of textbooks, etc. But none of these issues is seen as urgent or of public importance. Parliament, like the government, remains silent.
If it is "International Snail Fossils Day" we will have a debate, but the issues that affect the lives of the people we represent are conveniently ignored. Don't blame the opposition for this. Rule 222 states that the Chief Whip must arrange the business of the National Assembly on the Order Paper. Every day motions are proposed, but none of these things is ever discussed or ever debated. Are we surprised that the public is not taking Parliament seriously when they out there are extensively discussing all the issues intensively on a daily basis, but Parliament has nothing to say? We are discussing all kinds of irrelevant things. It is our own fault. We should change that. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chair, as you know, the main cost driver in Parliament's budget is the compensation of employees. Parliament has a total staff of 1 548; 1 277 filled posts and 271 vacancies. A total of 102 vacancies exist in the Legislation and Oversight Division and 96 in the Office of the Secretary to Parliament. Surely Parliament needs to fill these vacancies if we hope to improve our oversight capacity to ensure sound governance and effective service delivery.
Parliament plans to improve its oversight role by increasing the number of oversight visits undertaken by committee members each year. While we wholeheartedly agree, committees increasingly appear to be having the hardest time getting oversight trips off the ground. Over and over again, things are still in the air at the last minute or cancelled because no authority or payment comes from the Speaker's Office.
On occasion, I have had to go to the airport with no confirmation of flights and stand at the reservations desk an hour before flying, waiting for confirmation of payment from your office, Mr Speaker. Yesterday an overseas oversight and study trip, leaving on Friday, was cancelled as the Speaker's Office could not confirm before Wednesday, resulting in the trip being postponed. Africa Day celebrations were also compromised by delayed approvals, again appearing to emanate from the Speaker's Office. Mr Speaker, I don't know what the problems are or who is dropping the ball, but something seems to be wrong, and it is reflecting badly on you, sir.
Upgrading the information technology system and increasing public participation are also priorities for Parliament. To ensure public involvement, understanding and full participation in legislative and other processes, more frequent parliamentary broadcasts and education on public participation will be necessary.
Parliament's intention to increase public participation and involvement in its work is supported by the constituency support subprogramme, which gets a substantial portion of the budget, followed by political-party support and party-leadership support, but while all three subprogrammes experience nominal increases, none is inflation related.
Because Parliament is not required to return unspent funds to the National Revenue Fund, unspent funds from previous years accumulate as retained earnings, and this surplus will be used to fund IT projects to upgrade the audiovisual system in both Houses of Parliament, not a minute too soon.
We all know the National Assembly is limping along in this regard, but Extended Public Committees this year were full of frustrating moments for members and Ministers as microphones played havoc with budget speeches and time allocations. Talking about EPCs, the cockroaches in the Old Assembly were a bit off-putting, too.
The budget reflects an increase of 4,8% this year, but in real terms it has decreased, casting a shadow over Parliament's chances of meeting its objectives. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your straight assessment. The ACDP will be supporting this Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, Deputy Speaker, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers, comrades and colleagues, the budget for public and international relations is R118,5 million. Parliament's role and ultimate objective is to represent the people of South Africa and to ensure government by the people under our Constitution.
The objective of Programme 3 of Parliament is, one, to improve public participation - and much has been said about that this afternoon - by, amongst other things, reformatting parliamentary programmes to include all national languages and, two, to improve public education programmes.
Within the context of the Parliament of South Africa, the report of the independent panel assessment of Parliament highlights sharp inequality in education, as one of the challenges to effective participation. It is difficult for people to participate meaningfully in parliamentary processes if they are unable to access information and to communicate appropriately; therefore Parliament has embarked on a public education drive to ensure effective participation. The public education office is responsible for implementing Parliament's public education programmes.
On the other hand, with public education and relations envisaged for the Office of the House Chairperson, the area of international relations appears to be one of political guidance and oversight to ensure that appropriate public participation and education programmes are developed and effectively implemented. This requires a close working relationship and interaction between the two offices.
The budget for international relations is R43 million. The International Relations division provides protocol services, administration for bilateral and multilateral meetings, and services for official visits, including adequate content and procedural and logistical support for incoming and outgoing delegations.
Historically, parliaments have had little involvement within international fora. With the advent of globalisation, shifting global alignments and increased participation in global organs of governance, parliaments have been forced to reconsider their level of participation. Parliaments now have an obligation to ensure that the people they represent at national level are also represented in the global arena and are not left behind as a result of the new global developments.
Parliament's strategic plan for 2009 to 2014 has prioritised the need to improve and widen relations, co-operation and participation by developing and implementing an international relations strategy as one of its core objectives.
In pursuit of its role in international relations, co-operation and participation, our Parliament is a member of the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum, SADC-PF; the Pan-African Parliament; the African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union forum, the ACP-EU; the International Parliamentary Union, the IPU; the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the CPA; and the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians forum. We are about to establish the India, Brazil, South Africa parliamentary forum. We do work together with the South Africa- European Union forum, and we need to facilitate the establishment of a Brics parliamentary forum at some stage.
The role of the Parliamentary Group on International Relations, the PGIR, is to guide participation and co-operation of the South African Parliament in international relations in line with the values of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
Parliament's affiliation and participation in various organisations is driven by the need to uphold universal values and principles of democracy, respect for human rights and international law, as well as the need to reinforce South Africa's foreign policy objectives at the level of international parliamentary fora.
The Joint Rules Committee of 2006 adopted the following core objectives of Parliament's involvement and engagement in international relations: to prioritise Africa; to strengthen South-South co-operation; to advance multilateralism; to initiate and strengthen North-South dialogue; to establish bilateral relations for strategic reasons; to ensure and follow up at parliament-to-parliament bilateral relations; to facilitate public participation and education; to promote and protect human rights; to reinforce democratic values and ideals; to uphold international law and justice; to promote gender justice; and to initiate contact with other parliaments.
The prioritisation of Africa is based on the consolidation of the African Agenda. Our Parliament recognises that South Africa's destiny is inextricably linked to that of the African continent and the developing world. Priorities therefore are: to contribute to the strengthening of the SADC-PF; to contribute to the strengthening of the Pan-African Parliament; to adhere to recommendations of the African Peer Review Mechanism; to support peace, stability and security in Africa through post-conflict reconstruction initiatives within the African Union's policy; to promote and support the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad, and the SADC's Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan, RISDP.
South-South co-operation is important. The strengthening of South-South parliamentary relations has developed intercontinental engagements for the strengthening of parliamentary democracy.
We need to promote interparliamentary co-operation, solidarity and economic development.
We need to support efforts to address common socioeconomic challenges related to poverty, education, health, population, environmental concerns, and the rights of women and children.
We need to support the attainments of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.
We need to establish the India-Brazil-South Africa, Ibsa, parliamentary forum and facilitate the formation of the Brics parliamentary forum.
We need to promote the respect for human rights, democracy, gender justice, commitment to peace, justice, and international law. We need to promote peaceful relations between South Africa, the African continent and the world.
We need to strengthen the role and visibility of the Ibsa parliamentary forum on issues relating to democratisation of institutions of global governance, particularly with regard to the reform of the United Nations, UN, system, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, the World Trade Organisation, WTO, the G20, the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions and climate change negotiations.
Through the North-South co-operation Parliament will help to mobilise support for the entrenchment of democratic values and to ensure the support for South Africa's national priorities and Nepad. The engagement with the North is also aimed at advancing the development needs of the African continent and the South with regard to the promotion of parliamentary democracy.
In the spirit of overseeing trade, investment and economic development, our Parliament continues to actively participate in the WTO Committee and the African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union Forum. This affords us an opportunity to reflect on broad economic policies and how best legislatures could engage in this regard.
Partnerships for the consolidation of the development agenda to ensure engagement with the North is through the South Africa-European Union forum and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to promote parliamentary democracy, the interests and values of South Africa, and through parliamentary co-operation to garner the support of national priorities, such as job creation and the eradication of poverty. The CPA needs transformation so that it is able to address the imbalances of power in the international arena. It also needs to change from a charitable organisation into a diplomatic organisation.
Bilateral relations is an important part of Parliament's international relations, because it remains an important vehicle for interparliamentary co-operation, for promoting Parliament's interests and values and for promoting South Africa's national priorities.
So far, the South African Parliament has signed a memorandum of understanding, MOU, on exchange mechanisms with China, Mozambique and Vietnam, and Uganda have just submitted MOU proposals. Parliament successfully cohosted the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU-Cop 17 Climate Change meeting on the margins of the UN Cop 17 Climate Change Conference in December 2011. This concluded with a formal declaration by all IPU member parliaments. It is important that we monitor the resolutions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCC, and the commitments made by our governments in that regard.
We also cohosted the Globe Chapter in preparation for the Cop 17 Conference. We are also happy to announce that more engagements have been identified; for instance we will participate in the forthcoming World Symposium on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June, as well as in the Conference of the Parties, Cop 18, that is to be hosted in Doha, Qatar in December this year.
In respect of gender mainstreaming and women's emancipation, we are committed to ensure that we extend our support and commitment to all activities pertaining to women, children and people living with disabilities. In this regard our parliamentarians participated in the 56th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and helped to amplify the perennial challenges of women in various walks of life, while celebrating positive developments undertaken by our government in empowering the women of South Africa.
The International Relations and Protocol Division is at an advanced stage of the restructuring process. It will assist in providing presiding officers and Members of Parliament with strategic direction on the parliamentary dimension of international relations and ensure capacity development so that Parliament can achieve its set goals. In this regard the division is also in the process of increasing its content development capacity. Furthermore, a protocol training manual for Members of Parliament is being developed for the purposes of broadening understanding on various protocol practices.
Now, we have some issues for consideration. Firstly, the deployment of Members of Parliament to various international fora should be done in a manner which maximises Parliament's engagement, thus the deployment of committed and dedicated members into the various focus groups is imperative.
Secondly, the current policy on parliamentary international relations should be strengthened.
Thirdly, productive interaction should be facilitated between the PGIR and the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Co-operation and the Select Committee on International Relations and Trade.
Fourthly, policies on friendship groups and other strategic partnerships should be developed and implemented.
Fifthly, Parliament should look at mechanisms that improve the rate at which reports emanating from international participation are tabled and debated, if necessary.
Sixthly, we need to improve the capacity of the PGIR for the establishment of a databank in which all information pertinent to parliamentary international relations is kept.
Further, resolutions emerging from bilateral and multilateral engagements should be monitored and discussed in the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. Furthermore, the recruitment of experienced personnel with the knowledge of the conduct of diplomacy, international relations and foreign policy analysis is crucial.
Lastly, structured relations with tertiary institutions and think tanks should be initiated.
As Parliament will be interacting at various levels, such as regional, continental and international fora, it becomes imperative to understand and articulate South Africa's national values and interests, to influence the agenda of the interparliamentary organisations and to advance the African Agenda.
To this end, it becomes imperative to begin the process of implementing the PGIR objectives and expedite the completion of the International Relations and Protocol Division's restructuring process. The division is determined to increase and strengthen its capacity in order to maximise support for Parliament's participation in international relations and co-operation.
Much needs to be done, and this can only be done constructively if we all work together to make our efforts successful.
In conclusion, I wish to thank my office staff and the division on International Relations for their hard work, considering that there is a considerable understaffing in the division. I thank you. The ANC supports this Budget Vote.
Motlotlegi Modulasetilo, Motlotlegi Mmusakgotla le maloko a a tlotlegang... [Hon Chairperson, hon Speaker and hon members...] the Budget Vote on Parliament places a heavy burden on members, as they have to serve as referees and players at the same time. The enlarged executive has resulted in downscaling members of portfolio committees as more committees have had to be put in place. From the 17 members per portfolio committee 10 years ago, the numbers have been fiddled down to 15, and to 12 at present. This makes it very difficult for all parties to participate in matters that affect those departments and other committees and this is something that tends to defeat the idea of a multiparty Parliament as envisaged in the Constitution of our country.
Even with the situation as it stands, portfolio committees often find it difficult to have quorums for greater responsibility from members. All people have to be at their posts as and when required. What astounds us in the UCDP is that the Secretary to Parliament has, in the past four years, been suspended on two occasions. Surely, this will have a negative effect on the operations of the institution.
We have noted what the Speaker said. We hope the findings by the Auditor- General will be made known to all parties and not be kept as the preserve of the Parliamentary Oversight Authority, POA, where some parties only get snippets of what is going on by gleaning that from the media. The UCDP welcomes Prof Mohammed Jahed to establish the Budget Office, and thanks the leadership of the institution for having gone the way of requesting a seconded official in order to put the structure in place.
We hope that the 141 vacant posts as at September 2011, some of which were said at the time to be eyed for providing capacity to this office, among others, are gradually being filled. It is ironic that as Members of Parliament, we lament the bureaucratic manner in which departments and municipalities function, while our institution wallows in the same mode of operation.
It is unfortunate that members who join Parliament, as indicated earlier on by hon Killian, have to wait for almost six months to be provided with simple tools of trade such as laptops, yet we are all set to strive for a paperless society. We have to laud efforts mounted to make a mark on the international parliamentary stage by participating in bodies such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and even visiting other parliaments across the globe to do benchmarking and observe best practices out there.
We have noted that among the strategic priorities set by Parliament itself is this one:
Parliament will expand its focus on increasing representation, openness and accountability by improving its oversight capacity to ensure sound governance and effective service delivery.
The UCDP will, however, support the Budget Vote. [Time expired.]
Chairperson, one of the strategic objectives of Budget Vote No 2 is to build an effective and efficient institution. Listening to the Speaker today, I can confidently say that Parliament is falling far short of this objective. The Parliament of South Africa has been dogged by controversy for far too long now, and regrettably its reputation has been badly tarnished in the process.
While we in the DA fully understand that you have functionaries to execute various duties, at the end of the day the buck stops with you; and you have to take full responsibility when things go wrong. The Financial Management of Parliament Act was signed into law in 2009. This Act affects how budgets in Parliament and committee budgets are managed. It requires the establishment of an oversight mechanism that must maintain oversight over the financial management of Parliament.
For some unknown reason, the formation of this oversight mechanism, as recommended by the Act, has been delayed by the Parliamentary Oversight Authority, POA, who is accountable to this House for the sound financial management of the institution. It's the DA's considered opinion that it is this very hesitance that allowed a senior parliamentary official to manipulate the system to his advantage and wall himself into a hole at Parliament's expense.
We call on you to establish the oversight mechanism called for in the Act in order to also close a loophole which allows staff to get interest-free loans from Parliament. The last time I checked, Parliament was a legislative institution, not a bank.
The Joint Rules Committee is one of the two senior structures of Parliament and deals with core issues like legislation, committees, and the Parliamentary Group on International Relations, PGIR. One would imagine, then, that such a body would surely sit regularly in order to ensure that we run an efficient and effective institution. It sat once in 2010, once in 2011 and once this year. In fact, the Speaker expressed his frustration at the last meeting when he took parties to task over the failure to finalise the attendance policy for the past 10 years.
We would not be in this predicament if the Joint Rules Committee sat more often. Nevertheless, the DA will comply with your request to finalise the attendance policy by 31 July this year. The POA approved the framework for the operation of sector parliaments and the celebrations of special days in 2011; one of which is Africa Day, which we celebrated this past Friday on 25 May. I have four words to describe the event hosted by Parliament: It was a disaster. The function was due to start at 10 am. At that time there were about 20 Members of Parliament present, troupes of singers and dancers, but no sign of any other people. We were told that the buses forgot to pick up the people. Notwithstanding, we started at 11:20 am and due to the low attendance, the few political parties that were there gave each other messages of goodwill. The afternoon programme of commissions was abandoned.
The question to be asked is why Parliament organised a programme at the same time, date and city as the Ministry of International Relations and Co- operation did. What on earth was Parliament thinking when it decided on the event? This was a typical case of fruitless expenditure and I await the report with great anticipation.
Yet another strategic objective of Parliament is to improve and widen the role of Parliament in international co-operation and participation through the PGIR.
The allocation for changes in the structure of the PGIR was R6,4 million. But sadly, the PGIR has yet to get out of the starting block. Restructuring started in March 2011. There is a high vacancy rate, especially in terms of content specialists. The PGIR is supposed to enrich delegations before they leave on international engagements. They are meant to receive reports, table them in the ATC, and make recommendations to Parliament for actioning. I have yet to hear a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA, Pan-African Parliament, PAP, or Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, report debated in the House after the event.
The Rio + 20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development commences in about 20 days. Has the PGIR even begun to facilitate the Parliament of South Africa's participation? The simple answer is, no. The divisional head seems to think he has to report to the Secretary of Parliament and the POA. My understanding is that the PGIR has to report to the Joint Rules Committee and has yet to do so.
I would like to touch on the issue of parliamentary democracy offices, PDOs, established in three provinces by the POA in 2009 as a pilot phase with a current operating budget of R9 million. The aim is to provide a link between Parliament and the people.
An evaluation report on the PDOs in August 2011 found that in the Northern Cape senior people in municipalities and local government do not understand the role of Parliament. The location of the PDO in North West is not ideal, and it would appear that the PDOs are doing the constituency work of ANC Members of Parliament. Some of the staff employed at the PDOs are former ANC councillors. Despite such a negative report, the presiding officers have decided not to act on the report just yet and to continue with the pilot project. The question is: why? It should be scrapped. Surely, three years is a long time for a pilot programme.
I would like to touch on the sports councils. I think there is a potential for another disaster in respect of the Parliamentary Sports Council, PSC. This structure was in essence endorsed by the Chief Whips' Forum and funding to the amount of some R2,5 million was earmarked for the activities of the Parliamentary Sports Council.
It would appear, however, that the PSC has taken on a life of its own and has deviated from the original objective of promoting sport and wellness among Members of Parliament and staff. The chair of the PSC has yet to provide conclusive answers to the Chief Whips' Forum. While the DA is fully in support of such a council which caters for the sport and mental wellbeing of members and staff, at the same time we want to make it clear that proper accounting procedures must be put in place. [Interjections.] I can't understand why you are howling at me. Rather listen to what I have to say.
The Quarterly Consultative Forum is yet another parliamentary structure which should report to the Joint Rules Committee. However, sometimes it goes to the Chief Whips' Forum, sometimes to the POA, but not yet to the JRC. It is supposed to take care of member's facilities but, quite frankly, members are doing a far better job of looking after their own needs than depending on the QCF. The sorry mess of the issue of cellphones is well known by every member in this House.
The Speaker, as the presiding officer, and us, as Members of Parliament, have a collective duty to restore pride and dignity to the institution of Parliament. We talk about it being a people's Parliament, but the first thing to do is to restore people's confidence in the institution instead of allowing it to degenerate into a house of shame. Your decisiveness and speed to act on the recommendations in the Auditor-General's report on the scandalous misuse of funds will be the first step in restoring dignity to this House.
In conclusion, the DA would like to place on record its sincere thanks to all the staff in Parliament, from the service officers to sound and vision, to members' facilities and in particular to the National Assembly's Table staff for sterling work, support and courtesy in allowing us to do our work. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon House Chair, colleagues, hon Speaker, it gives me pleasure, on behalf of the ANC, to stand before this august House to express our support for the Budget Vote for Parliament. Without the resources that are allocated in this budget to Parliament, as a nation we will not be able to achieve the goals set out in our Constitution, goals which have already been outlined, namely to be the tribunes of the people and to ensure government by the people through us. I think not to support this budget would fly in the face of that tenet of our Constitution.
Before I proceed with my contribution to this debate, which will focus on the need for increased support for political parties by Parliament, I just want to correct certain myths and misrepresentations that have been flying around this afternoon. Hon Kalyan, for example, who has just left the podium, now accuses us as the ANC of what the DA often refers to as cronyism - that we always put up our own people for opportunities and that we do not open up society, the so-called open opportunity society that they often refer to.
I just wanted to say it is strikingly interesting that these very same critics, when they took over power in the Western Cape, cleansed the Western Cape of anything that smacked of the ANC. [Interjections.] [Applause.] They unleashed senior counsel, who fired people left, right and centre to ensure ... [Interjections.]
Chair, on a point of order: Hon Masutha is deliberately misleading the House with that statement. [Interjections.]
Hon Chair, may I indicate that a member is not allowed to accuse another member of deliberately misleading the House. In fact, she is violating the Rules by accusing me of deliberately misleading the House. I would request you to rule her out of order.
Hon member, continue.
Thank you. I think I would like to write to the Speaker and lodge a formal complaint, because that is clearly a violation of the Rules. If you want to accuse me of misleading the House, you may do so by way of a substantive motion. You know the Rules.
Hon member, continue with your speech.
The point I'm making is that ... [Interjections.]
Hon Chairperson, may I address you on the same point of order? As far as I know, in terms of the Rules, you cannot accuse a member of deliberately misleading the House. That's unparliamentary. The fact that the hon Masutha is misleading the House is because of his own ignorance, and not deliberately so. However, it cannot be said to be deliberately misleading the House. [Laughter.]
Hon Masutha, just a moment. I thought I was going to let that go, but you are correct, hon member. If you say someone is deliberately misleading the House, you are, in fact, accusing the hon member of lying. This is language we do not want to use here. Hon member, continue with your speech.
I assume that this means that she has been called to order. Chairperson, I just want to indicate that, if you follow what has been happening in the Western Cape since they took over power, you will find that they have been systematically removing people who are seen in any way to be associated with the ANC, irrespective of whether they are capable of doing the work that they have been appointed to do, purely on the basis of some perceived association with the ANC. So, who are they to come and accuse us of appointing our own people and excluding other people in society? They have no standing to raise that discussion.
Let me not detract from the main issues of the day. The ANC has committed itself to an activist parliament that puts the interests of all South Africans first, especially the poor, as it performs its constitutional responsibilities as a national liberation movement and governing party.
An activist parliament has to be felt by the people. It must be visible through its representatives and have a meaningful impact upon the lives of the people so that they can practically feel and see the concept of the people's Parliament that the Freedom Charter spoke of in 1955. For this to happen parliamentary constituency offices have to be used as springboards for community outreach work. These offices must be the hubs for advice, the engine rooms for discussion and centres where communities can receive literature and information, become informed and politicised and be prepared to go back into the community to serve the people qualitatively better prepared.
Constituencies must be served. The constituency office is the base from which the constituency is serviced. Constituency work is to update communities, to report back, evaluate, assess and monitor the impact of the ANC-led government policies on a community. An activist parliament is one which ensures through its oversight and legislative role that there is a speedy roll-out of basic services to the people by passing appropriate legislation that speaks directly to the needs of the people and will directly benefit them. It further ensures this through its oversight work, working with the executive and ensuring that the executive execute both the constitutional mandate and political mandate they have to better the lives of our people.
An activist parliament is one which understands that oversight is a continuous act in which there is a reinforcing, working relationship between the legislature and the executive ensuring that ANC government policies and programmes are implemented effectively and efficiently.
This is in stark contrast to the opposition and other liberal democratic institutions whose conceptualisation of the relationship is one of a watchdog wanting to bite at anything that moves, misguided by a narrow conceptualisation that the Constitution is there to restrain the ANC and its alliance and must therefore be turned into a guard dog supposedly to protect the people from the ANC.
President Zuma, in the June 2009 state of the nation address, emphasised that the executive welcomed increased oversight as a necessary part of assisting the executive to achieve its targets of an effective and efficient government. An activist parliament is one that is robust but constructive. It seeks to elevate what Parliament stands for - an arena for robust debate, constructive, informed, programmatic engagement, giving direction, providing answers and solutions and giving hope to the nation and its people that their needs are being addressed in their Parliament. Translated, this means that decisions and legislation that are taken and passed by the people's Parliament must result in decent work; steadily improving plurality of life; the provision of quality education; the expansion of skills development; ensuring affordable energy and providing for decent shelter; adequate and clean water; and secure communities. An activist parliament is one in which a battle of ideas must take place between the political parties. Parliament by definition is a forum of debates and of engagement. The activist parliament is current as long as those issues are pertinent to the genuine concerns of our people. We are not here to debate academic issues that have no bearing on the improvement of the quality of life of our people. Let's clarify that.
The activist parliament therefore ensures that the battle and contestation of ideas is a reflection of a deeper struggle for the correct ideological and theoretical direction towards which the state must be driven to realise the expressed interests of the people, especially the poor.
This means that an activist parliament must prepare for the battle of ideas and be adequately equipped to do so by Parliament itself. This does not necessarily have to do with us being sidetracked into issues that are petty and that are not pertinent to the central transformation agenda that the ANC has put forward for consideration by this nation, as the DA would want us to be.
This suggests that the political heart of parliamentary engagement is through political parties, and it is these parties that must be adequately resourced to meet the challenge of raising on a continuous basis the quality and integrity of debate. It is these very debates in Parliament which provide for seeds of policy development and review.
An activist parliament calls for the renewal of the political management of Parliament, the governance of the institution, how it conducts and runs the affairs of Parliament. This requires that there be regular evaluation and assessment of rules and policies that govern the institution of Parliament. It extends to the nature of the discipline that is required in the legislative arm of the state. The Whippery needs to ensure political and organisational discipline of members, ethical conduct and the reflection of sound qualities the nation expects from its leadership.
With regard to working with broader civil society, an activist parliament must have the ability to sustain this work and reach out to sectors which result in this sector enhancing the democracy underpinning decisions of Parliament.
The Speaker discussed the issue of the review of our Rule book in Parliament. He indicated this afternoon that, since 1994, when the existing Rule book was first adopted, it has essentially been a situation of piecemeal amendments and changes to the Rule book rather than overhauling the entire system, which in large measure, I might add, was actually an inheritance from the Westminster system and to some extent the apartheid order Parliament.
Let me pause and remind Mr Watson, who is the DA expert on Rule drafting, that last week's debate about Rule 105 was completely misplaced as an issue of Point of Order. As you read the Rule, it actually says that Ministers may respond to member's statements. It does not create an obligation for Ministers to react to statements. Your point of order was completely misplaced and I was surprised, for a person who is supposed to be an expert on Rules, that you have misread it so badly.
There are a number of drivers that will be proposed regarding how we should go about effecting this review of the Rules of Parliament. There is, for example, a need to determine how the National Assembly wants to give expression to being an African parliament, an activist parliament and a people's Parliament. Issues around the ethos and culture of Parliament and how they find expression in the processes and proceedings of the House need to be clarified. Matters of decorum also need to be addressed, as do some institutional reforms that are required.
The subcommittee of Rules, which I'm privileged to chair, is tasked with the development, formulation or adoption of policy on proceedings, procedures, rules, orders and practices of the Assembly. The subcommittee on review of National Assembly Rules will act as the engine room for the review process, digesting and processing matters of eventual presentation to the Rules committee. [Interjections.]
Hon Chairperson, would the hon member be so kind to answer a question, please? He has 17 minutes.
Well, ask the question. I'll answer it.
Thank you very much for the honour. Hon speaker, you've indicated how you see what Parliament should be doing, and that's your point of view. You've also spoken of the subcommittee with regard to Rules. [Interjections.]
That's a statement, and not a question.
Do you want to understand the question, or not?
You are wasting my time. Ask the question.
Yes, I'm trying to. Listen and you will understand. The point that I'm making is that you are going to be the chairperson of the subcommittee that is going to review the Rules of Parliament. You have indicated your view. Would you agree that Parliament does not belong only to the ANC? Parliament belongs to all parties that are represented in it.
Hon member, you have asked your question. Please take your seat.
That's not a question but a political statement, which the member is actually not entitled to making because he is not standing on the podium, where I'm standing now. He must wait for his turn and then give his statement.
As I was saying, the subcommittee in turn will be reliant on a number of processes over which it does not necessarily have control; for example, the crafting of a public participation model for the legislative sector, the finalisation of the recommendations and several reports that are currently before various parliamentary structures, processes to review the legislative process that we follow in passing those in Parliament; and the issue of the leave policy which is still pending and which the Speaker has also alluded to, etc.
Hon members, let me conclude, as I realise I have irritated the opposition enough; and, in any case, it is late in the day.
Hon member, your time has expired. [Applause.]
As a Parliament, we need to constantly improve on the quality of our work and this needs us to benchmark ourselves against other parliaments in the world. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson ... [Interjections.]
Ons los dit vir 'n volgende dag! [Let's leave it for another day!] [Laughter.]
Hon members, order, please. Order!
Speaker, members of the executive and hon members, my input in this debate will focus on some of the issues that have been raised by the political parties, which are very valid and which deal with oversight activities, parliamentary committees, and also Information and communications technology, ICT, development in the legislative sector. In addition, I shall highlight the national projects and programmes that were facilitated over the last year, and those that are currently being implemented.
The National Assembly currently has 35 portfolio and ad hoc committees established in terms of the Rules. That also includes the recently established Joint Committees on the Scrutiny of Designated Legislation and on HIV and Aids.
For the third year in a row, a parliamentary framework - hon Van der Merwe - is indeed available that covers the full financial year period, which has been developed in consultation with the Programming Whip. Mention was made earlier that certain members do not know what is happening during the course of the year and in the following year. However, if you consulted that framework, which was adopted by the Joint Programming Committee, it should assist members. Perhaps we should look at the distribution of that programme again.
It certainly enabled committees and their chairpersons to be aware of the committee periods and the dedicated dates for oversight visits and study tours. This should allow committees and political parties to structure their activities and to plan ahead. The programmes of committees are monitored to ensure their implementation, and chairpersons regularly engage with my office to ensure procedural and other compliance issues in front of their committees.
It is indeed correct that during 2011 a number of committees did not manage to make the quorum to take decisions on matters that were in front of them. That is because members simply do not attend, for a variety of reasons. This matter - hon Mfundisi - was addressed to some extent, with the decision of the NA Rules Committee late last year to reduce the membership of portfolio committees to 12, to ensure the full participation of members. We have the experience that the smaller parties especially find it difficult to attend all the portfolio committee meetings, and when decisions need to be taken in front of the committees, they then struggle to make the quorum.
The review of the size of committees has resulted in an improved attendance of portfolio committee meetings and better co-ordination of oversight visits and study tours. Committees meet essentially on a weekly basis, only on two days-Tuesdays and Wednesdays. An increasing number of committees use Fridays for their meetings. We will find that, in certain instances, attendance is still poor, because MPs usually leave on a Thursday afternoon already to return to their constituencies. However, at Friday meetings, where you have dedicated members, those committees do take their work forward and they do a lot more than the other committees. Certainly, two days, a Tuesday and a Wednesday, are not enough for Members of Parliament to do their work. This leads to a situation where committees struggle to implement the programmes that they have adopted, and it also impacts negatively on sittings of the House.
The situation is exacerbated by the limited number of venues for committee meetings. We reported on this last year, and the situation has not improved. Subsequently, Parliament is forced to hire venues outside its precincts, at great expense, to accommodate meetings. This exercise is not only costly, but also leads to huge logistical and security concerns.
In the past year, 1 118 committee meetings took place. In terms of legislation that was processed, 28 Bills were passed during the last financial year for the period ending 30 March this year.
Since the last Budget Vote of Parliament, a number of content advisers and other support staff have been appointed to assist committees with their work. However, I agree with the hon members: The approach in providing support to committees cannot be mechanical and reduced to numbers. We should not be satisfied to say that the support staff have been appointed, content advisers have been appointed and research work is being done. We must focus on the quality of the output that is being expected from the people who have been appointed.
There is still a lack of strategic advice and support to junior officials working in the Committee Section. Managers must manage properly. We must ensure that when new staff members get attached to portfolio committees, they know exactly what is expected from them and that they get assisted in the execution of their duty. We still find instances, even with the appointment of additional staff members, where minutes of proceedings of committee meetings and oversight reports remain outstanding for months on end and are not adopted on time.
The questions we need to ask ourselves are: What is happening in terms of our recruitment policy? Are we recruiting correctly, and are we strategic in what we are doing? [Interjections.] Who is managing the new recruits? Is there sufficient space for new entries into Parliament to make decisions and to accept responsibility and be accountable for their decisions? You find that the bureaucracy is too big, there are five people who must check on the same document, and it takes at least five days for that to happen. That is not acceptable.
Members of portfolio committees must also insist-and they have the responsibility to do so-that minutes and reports are adopted before the next meeting can commence and before the next activity can take place.
HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
We refuse to approve any oversight visits and study tours if committee work is not up to date. The absence of reliable recordings of official proceedings can seriously compromise Parliament. Currently, no applications for study tours are being considered for those committees that have outstanding work in front of them. Furthermore, a fortnightly report on committees' activities will be published, indicating all outstanding minutes of meetings, oversight visits and study tours. The emphasis should be that all members of a portfolio committee, and not only the committee chairperson, must be held accountable for the work in front of that committee.
The Legal Services Office and the Chief legal adviser play a crucial role in providing support to committees. The services offered by this section ensure that legislation processed by committees is informed by the Rules, and that it is constitutionally sound.
Earlier in the debate the hon Speaker raised the issue around the constitutionality of some of the Bills that are passed by the House. In this respect I do agree with speakers that consideration must be given to increasing the capacity of this office in order to meet the growing demand for assistance from the committees. The number of ad hoc committees that exists puts further strain on their capacity. More work also needs to be done to clarify the relationship between portfolio committees on the one hand, the legal services unit on the other hand, and the Office on Institutions Supporting Democracy.
Ad hoc committees and joint ad hoc committees are established to deal with specific matters or appointments to statutory bodies in certain instances, and have to report to the House within a specific timeframe. In this respect we do find the situation that political parties tend to delay in submitting names of members to serve on these committees. This has a negative impact on their functionality and in meeting the reporting deadlines.
A further challenge has been the functioning of joint ad hoc committees because of the unavailability of Members of Parliament due to different programmes between the National Assembly and the NCOP. This leads to a number of pieces of legislation and Bills that both Houses must attend to stalling in front of the National Assembly.
We have also noted that the committee secretaries to portfolio committees are assigned to give support to the ad hoc committees over and above their normal duties. This kind of allocation has a negative impact on our efficiency. The ad hoc committees require dedicated and specialised levels of support, even if that support must be sourced on a temporary basis.
In the light of the debate that has taken place today and the input from members, I certainly do not share the opinion that Parliament is dysfunctional, or not functioning at all. Indeed, there are certain things that work, and they work very well; but indeed, there are certain things that we need to improve upon.
One such area that we need to review is the Committee Section in its current format. It will be critical to enhance the focus of this important section and for chairpersons of committees, themselves, to have control over committee activities. This includes the management of support staff allocated to that committee to improve the accountability of officials working with committees.
The Committee of Chairpersons meets quarterly and the continued interaction with the Auditor-General had a positive impact on the work of committees. Over the past year there has been regular interaction, through road shows, the sharing of information on the performance of municipalities, as well as areas of improvements and concern of government departments. Similar engagements will continue to take place this year.
In our next engagement the Auditor-General is expected to brief the Committee of Chairpersons on the audit report on the use of consultants by government departments. Furthermore, the continued collaboration with the Office of the Auditor-General has greatly enhanced the quality of reporting by committees in the Budget Review and Recommendation Reports.
With the appointment of the Interim Director of the Budget Office, we also expect that we will place further focus on how we can enhance this process. Similar relations exist with the Financial and Fiscal Commission, who are due to brief the Committee of Chairpersons on the Annual Submission on the Division of Revenue.
Increasingly, the cluster approach to committee work is being implemented. This is to ensure closer collaboration between portfolio committees in the National Assembly and also select committees, where possible, in the NCOP. The use of clusters ensured that Parliament submitted its input on the Presidential Committee on the Review of State-owned Enterprises and made a substantial input through continued engagements with the National Development Plan. We want to thank all members who participated in this process.
On a similar approach, eight National Assembly portfolio committees will undertake a co-ordinated oversight visit from 3 to 9 June 2012 to investigate the human rights abuses of farm workers in the Western Cape. The NCOP will undertake a similar visit to other provinces and districts. These reports will be shared between the two Houses and will further enhance the oversight and accountability function that we are trying to achieve.
In terms of the Oversight and Accountability Model that was adopted in 2009 and launched last year during the Budget Vote of Parliament, we published the Manual for Parliamentary Committees. It is critical that all members should possess these two documents to assist them in the execution of their functions and mandates.
The Political Task Team-and political parties that served on this task team in the Third Parliament must listen - that was established during the Third Parliament and that was supposed to oversee the implementation of the Oversight and Accountability Model is no longer in place. Most of those members did not return to Parliament in 2009. We are still waiting for feedback from all political parties on the recommendation that has been made for the Political Task Team on the Development of the Public Participation Model to monitor and drive the implementation of the oversight model.
If we fail to do this, we may arrive at a situation where we implement the Oversight and Accountability Model in a format that is designed by officials of Parliament. It is the role and task of politicians to see to it that the policy is implemented to achieve the desired outcomes, as it is contained in the model. Processes are under way for the establishment of the Oversight and Advisory Mechanism Section, in line with the model. This should address a lot of the concerns that have been raised by members, for instance: What happens to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, reports and its recommendations? What happens to portfolio committees that regularly report on some of the activities that they have undertaken, and executive response in that regard?
As far as the development of the Public Participation Model is concerned, I heard the very valid issues that were raised by the hon Smith with regard to the participation of communities in the work of Parliament. This issue was also further emphasised by the hon Chief Whip of the Opposition.
A multiparty political task team that will provide direction and guidance on the development of the Public Participation Model is currently in place and it has started its work. The Joint Political Task Team on Public Participation met on 24 January. We involved the provincial legislatures so that we can emerge with a product that can be applied across the legislative sector.
The objectives for the project were divided into three focus groups, namely to conduct a constitutional review to look at the judgments from the Constitutional Court that had certain implications for the laws that we made; to research the current practices that are taking place in Parliament and in the provincial legislatures; and to engage the people of the country in terms of the key elements that should be part of such a model. It is expected that the final draft of the Public Participation Model will be ready by the end of this year.
In respect of information and communications technology, Parliament is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and its committee that deals with this matter, as well as the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament and the International Telecommunications Union, respectively. Parliaments around the world are involved in ongoing programmes that seek to enhance their oversight work, while responding to continuous changes in technology.
In 2009 a five-year ICT strategy was adopted by Parliament, and in October 2010 Parliament hosted the third World e-Parliament Conference on ICT at the Pan-African Parliament. The conference also established the Africa Parliamentary Knowledge Network to serve as a platform for training and sharing of experiences on ICT development in the region. The active participation and development of regional programmes will ensure that the region is not left behind in terms of technology.
The ICT Focus Group continues to monitor the implementation of the strategy, and it is important for political parties to deploy MPs to this focus group who have a real interest in ICT so that we can effectively oversee the implementation thereof. Furthermore, the Chief Whips' Forum in the NA has recently requested the ICT Focus Group to research and to report to it on the use of ICT equipment during sittings, as well as possible Rule amendments. This work is currently being undertaken by evaluating prevailing practices in other parliaments.
With regard to projects that were implemented over the past year, both the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, and Climate Change projects have been successfully implemented. Parliamentary committees have incorporated the monitoring of MDGs in their oversight work and committee programmes. It is envisaged that a meeting with provinces will be organised later in the year to share experiences. A range of activities has taken place in terms of the Climate Change Conference of Parties, Cop 17. The hon Greyling is correct-there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of the greening of Parliament. He is a member of the Political Task Team, and we look forward to seeing his input so that we can take the matter forward.
The Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs has been assigned to deal with content issues around climate change and to monitor the implementation of the White Paper and other commitments that were made in Durban. From 4 to 8 June the committee will lead other committees in engaging the relevant government departments on the implementation of the White Paper and related commitments.
One of the issues that came up in this debate, and a matter that we do not compromise on, is the programmes of portfolio committees. We have adopted the following attitude: When a portfolio committee needs to conduct oversight and there is a programme and it is costed, then funding should not be a problem. However, in respect of committee budgets, we do sit with a challenge: Almost 40% of portfolio committees could not spend the budgets that were allocated to them in the past financial year. [Interjections.] What we then do is move the funds around to those committees who do have approved programmes that are in line with the programmes that were adopted.
I now turn to the hon Dudley. As far as the experience during the Extended Public Committees is concerned, we agree. It is unacceptable that the venues that have been used are not properly equipped to house proper debates. As far as the overseas trip experience that you had is concerned - and the Speaker is certainly not to be blamed for this - we do have a procedure in place. We do expect to comply with that procedure if there is any outstanding matter that needs to be dealt with before it is signed off. For some of the overseas trips it is not R100 000 that is being used, it is R1 million, R1,5 million and R2 million. We need to ensure that we do meet the criteria and that the objectives are clearly spelled out. If that is not clear, we cannot approve such a trip.
HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
I want to say to the hon Kalyan that the Joint Rules Committee is a joint concern that we have shared for some time. An improvement is necessary regarding the National Assembly Rules Committee. However, we rely on the co-operation of all political parties, because very often that agenda is determined by the issues that are currently before the Chief Whips' Forum.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Office of the Speaker for his continued guidance and support, and the staff in the office for the work that they put in. I would also like to extend my appreciation to all the Chief Whips of the different political parties in the Chief Whips' Forum. We hope to see a lot of you more often in the Chief Whips' Forum - very often, there are only four or five parties in attendance, while the entire Office of the Speaker is there - so that we can deal, on a continuous basis, with the issues that you have raised. I thank you. [Applause.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, we are certainly overworking you today!
I would like to thank hon House Chairperson Frolick for having addressed some of the questions that had been raised and also for giving us the information that he has. He has answered all the questions that were asked. He even answered the ones that were not asked as yet!
Let me begin with the concern raised by the Chief Whip of the Opposition, namely that the House does not discuss matters of national importance. The question, of course, is who determines, and what the Rules provide. Section 42 of the Constitution provides that Parliament, as a representative of the people, should provide a national forum for public consideration of issues. This means that Parliament should afford the electorate a platform for public discourse.
The usual procedures through which the National Assembly will programme matters of national importance for discussion is that members propose subjects for discussion by way of Notices of Motion when an opportunity to do so arises during a sitting of the House.
The Notices are then discussed at the Chief Whips' Forum and scheduled for discussion by the National Assembly Programming Committee. Given their importance, I urge members to continue to propose debates and work through the relevant parliamentary structures to consider programming them on a more frequent basis. In other words, it should not be a hit-or-miss arrangement.
Now, in considering whether a matter of public interest should be scheduled for debate, there is established criteria which include, amongst others, one, that the subject of the matter must not be sub judice, and two, that no other immediate opportunity should be available to tackle the matter in the near future.
Recently, I might add, I have accepted a matter for debate on youth unemployment and the implementation of a youth wage subsidy to be placed on the programme. [Applause.] However, I would like to urge parties to work together to find space in the programme for such issues. It should not be just something that people wake up feeling they want to debate. It should be in the programme. That is what Parliament is about; it is about rules and procedures. [Applause.]
I also asked that members place issues before the Rules committee so that the Rules may be amended to achieve what the members want. If the Rules don't provide for it, let's change the Rules to make sure that the Rules provide for what Parliament requires.
Hon Mulder raised the issue of the relevance of Parliament to the people that we serve. I agree with the sentiments expressed. Let me reiterate what I said earlier. The challenge facing parliaments in all parts of the world is one of continuous evolution-ensuring that we respond strategically and effectively to our people's changing and growing needs.
As part of the overall review of the Rules of the House that I have called for, I would like to ask members to think creatively and to make proposals on how we respond to the changing needs of our people and the challenges of the 21st century.
I have noted with concern the issues raised by hon Dudley, and I will ask the administration for a report on the matter. It is unacceptable that Members of Parliament are hampered in their functioning by inefficient administration. [Applause.]
On the issue of vacant posts, we have agreed with the administration to arrange a special session to discuss how to address the matter. I might add that these are not merely vacant posts; these are funded vacant posts. So this is clearly a matter of concern, because you cannot have a situation where there are funded vacant posts, and there is a demand for the filling of those vacancies, but nothing seems to happen. So we clearly have to put this on the agenda for special discussion so that it is addressed once and for all.
With regard to the issue of the Parliamentary Group on International Relations, PGIR, raised by the hon Kalyan, I have met with Mrs Hajaig to discuss the importance of the PGIR meeting monthly. I am expecting the functioning of the PGIR to improve dramatically in future. I am aware of the challenges and I can assure members that the challenges have been addressed.
Hon members also raised the infrequency of meetings of the National Assembly Joint Rules Committees. Let me correct you on this matter. The National Assembly and the Joint Rules Committee meet quarterly and we have a set programme for the rest of the year. The next meeting of the NA Rules Committee will be held on 6 June and that of the Joint Rules Committee on 31 July. When we say quarterly, it means four times a year. You cannot have it more than four times a year if it is quarterly! And this is in our Rules. It is quarterly - four times a year! [Laughter.]
I also wish to correct the hon members and say that the Quarterly Consultative Forum, QCF, reports to the Parliamentary Oversight Authority, POA, and not to the Joint Rules Committee. Indeed, the QCF has been reporting to the POA on a regular basis, as expected. There are other issues that I would like to touch on very briefly. We agree with the view expressed by hon Koos van der Merwe regarding future planning for Parliament. As part of our recent study tour of the European Parliament, we engaged ideas on future planning scenarios. This is a matter I would like to take forward in the coming months.
I think hon Frolick has addressed the issue of tickets for those who are about to retire. It is an issue that is also receiving our attention. We do recognise that it is a bit of a problem when members of the executive have thirty-something tickets while retiring members like Mr Van der Merwe and I will only get four tickets. So it is clearly in our interest, Mr Van der Merwe, that we do address this issue. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Now, concerning capacity and support for members, I acknowledged in my speech and at many other fora that capacity support for members indeed remains an ongoing challenge. We are addressing the matter within the context of national resource constraints. We will continue to appoint new staff, reskill existing staff, and provide training programmes and training courses for Members of Parliament. In fact, I have said at a number of fora that, because Members of Parliament are getting younger, we will, at some point, have to consider making sure that attending school is compulsory, because you can't address Bills if you can't read or understand them. So in future, it is going to be compulsory. Training and going back to school is going to be compulsory for Members of Parliament, particularly young Members of Parliament. [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
Implementation of the oversight model is an issue that has been raised. Let me try to touch on this briefly. The primary objective of an oversight body of an organisation is to oversee the work of the accounting officer as he or she fulfills his or her management responsibilities by providing advice on the adequacy of internal controls and management practices based on a systematic and independent review. Within this context the Parliamentary Oversight Authority was established.
As I already indicated in my speech earlier, the proposed oversight mechanism in the Act duplicates some of the roles of the POA. Research and engagements with other parliaments indicate that these kinds of structures are established as substructures of the main structure for the purpose of delegating some of the work to them. For example, in the case of the UK Parliament, structures such as the finance and service committee, the administration committee, the management board, and the administration, estate and audit committees were composed to augment the House of Commons Commission. These are thus subcommittees of the House of Commons Commission. In New Zealand a review committee was established to augment the work of the Parliamentary Service Commission. In other words, these are substructures. This was the case in the past in our Parliament, because the Rules provided for a Joint Subcommittee on the Parliamentary Budget, which had oversight and monitored the implementation of Parliament's budget.
We therefore need to review this when we go back to the Rules. We need to ask what the best mechanism is. It should not be something that is just automatic. We like the name and so do I, but we need to know what it is that we want to put in place. Therefore, we need to take this again for further discussion to the POA so that we all have a common understanding and are also able to move in the same direction. It is always difficult as a group to move in different directions, but we try to move in the same direction and with some accelerated speed.
Finally, because it is a bit late in the day, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has contributed and made proposals and suggestions. These have been taken note of and I am aware that these are many issues that we need to take forward to the appropriate structures and fora, but I would like to thank you all for your active participation, for your suggestions and for making sure that this continues to be a truly democratic Parliament of the people.
Finally, Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank you. I know we have overworked you. You'll be happy to hear that this brings me to the end of my contribution. Good evening and thank you very much. [Applause.]
Thank you very much, hon Speaker.
Hon members, I wish to remind you of the cocktail party that is being hosted by the Speaker and the Chairperson of the NCOP. Members are requested to please join us in the Old Assembly dining room when the House adjourns. I think you deserve something.
Debate concluded.