NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NUMBER: 129
DATE FOR PUBLICATION: APRIL 2010
DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 3 MAY 2010
Mr T D HARRIS (DA-WC) TO ASK THE MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE
MONITORING AND EVALUATION AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION:
Whether the Presidency has established a unit to support the Regulatory
Impact Assessments (RIA) at the departmental level; if not, why not; if so,
(a) what is the mandate of the unit, (b) who is heading the unit, (c) to
which member of the executive is the unit accountable and (d) what is the
timeframe for the full implementation of the unitâs objectives?
CW156E
REPLY:
Whether there is a RIA unit established
The Central RIA Unit (CRU) is located in the Presidency with technical
assistance being provided by the National Treasury. The RIA
responsibilities within the Presidency are carried out by a small team of
officials currently located within the now decommissioned Policy
Coordination and Advisory Services (PCAS) and the Cabinet Office. The
current restructuring within the Presidency will determine the permanent
location of the Unit.
What is the mandate of the Unit
While national departments are responsible for conducting RIAs as part of
the policy formulation and legislative process, the CRU is responsible for
the quality assurance, enforcement, coordination and ensuring compliance
with the RIA requirements to ensure effective RIA implementation.
Post a 2 year pilot stage the central RIA unit was putting in place an
effective framework for the institutionalisation of RIA in South Africa.
This includes publishing Guidelines for RIA supplemented by Technical notes
and a âconducting a RIA templateâ. These documents which are currently
being finalized will provide detailed information to departments on how to
complete an RIA and will be published upon approval by the Cabinet.
The Central RIA Unit is further providing training to departments on RIA
which includes various analytical techniques, compliance, communication and
quality assurance. Two week long workshops have been held with government
department. The trainers were Scott and Associates, RIA specialists who
also provide global RIA training.
Who is heading the Unit
Since the Cabinetâs approval of conducting the RIA pilots in February 2007,
the operations of the CRU were overseen by a Steering committee, chaired by
the Head of the Policy Unit in the Presidency and Director-General at the
National Treasury. The plan was to review the operation of RIA and report
to Cabinet every two years. Changes emanating from reviews were to be
incorporated into the RIA Guidelines, which are subject to revision over
time. The reporting period on RIA progress and plans going forward have
been delayed by the transformation in government and restructuring within
the Presidency.
To which member of the executive is the unit accountable?
Once the system is fully functional, the Deputy President, in his role as
Leader of Government Business, will provide political leadership. The
Minister Finance and the Minister in The Presidency will sign off on the
quality of all RIAs. This includes verifying costings and impacts to ensure
they are accurate, based on sound assumptions and that the methodology is
appropriate.
What is the timeframe for the full implementation of the unitâs objectives
The full RIA implementation of the unitâs objectives was envisaged to take
full effect from June 2010. However, this target depends on timeframe for
the restructuring within the Presidency and the various RIA training
workshops to be conducted within the national departments in general and to
the newly established departments in particular. This will enable
departments to be in the position to conduct RIAs without the need to
employ external consultants or other experts except in a small minority of
cases.
END
