International Relations Portfolio Committee Evaluation of the Committee's Performance in 2009 and Consideration of the Committee's Annual Report

Meeting report

The Chairperson, Mr T Nxesi (ANC) welcomed the Members to their first meeting of 2010 with an especially warm welcome to Mr. B Skosana (IFP) who had been absent at the end of the previous calendar year due to illness. The year ahead was expected to be a short one due to preparation for the 2010 local Government elections, as well as the 2010 World Cup and Members would be required to work under pressure. The Committee had never had a full compliment, which was a matter of serious concern, and the Chairperson appealed to Members to prioritize the work of the Committee on International Relations.

The agenda included apologies; 2009 outstanding issues; Committee programme for the term ending in March 2010; the Committee programme for 2010, which was an addition to the five year programme; and the Committee report and challenges of 2009 which would need to be submitted by the end of March. Additional issues raised by Members would be included on the agenda.

There were no additions to the agenda. This was formally moved by Ms T Sunduza (ANC) and seconded by Mr K Mubu (DA).

Apologies were received by Dr N Koornhof (Cope) who had to attend the Budget Meeting and Mr B Holomisa (Alt) who would be absent from meetings between February 16-26  and in March 2010. Mr Mubu and Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) would need to leave at 11.45 am to attend another meeting.

The acceptance of apologies was moved by Ms R Magau (ANC) and seconded by Mr Skosana.

Outstanding activities from 2009
Activities which had been planned (Strategy Plan 2009-2013) but had not been implemented in 2009 had been postponed by higher offices and not by the Committee itself. The Committee was determined to follow up with the important visit to the University of the North and UNIVEN in Limpopo in March, where interaction with stakeholders in relation to national interest would take place. The Committee also wished to engage in debate on foreign policy issues with the student communities and experts at the UCT and UWC before March.

Mr Mubu asked if the visit to Limpopo would include a border post visit and a refugee camp.

The Chairperson said that the programme which was drafted to motivate for the visits would indeed be inclusive of those elements and that the Universities would be used as a base. The larger communities would be invited and debate would include issues which overlapped with Home Affairs concerns, such as xenophobia.

The Committee wished to pursue a strategic approach to concerns in Zimbabwe as Zimbabwe was on South Africa’s doorstep and impacted on South Africa. The Committee had watched the process of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and how it was unfolding. However, since Parliamentary Members were not diplomats, but rather representatives of the people, he raised the question to the Committee as to whether Zimbabwe should be visited.

Ms Sundunza suggested that Zimbabwe should receive priority as it was South Africa’s neighbour and that a multi-party delegation should assist in the situation and give oversight on how the ARF was being utilized in Zimbabwe. 

Mr. Skosana supported Ms Sundunza’s views and believed strongly that it was Parliament’s Constitutional mandate to engage with Foreign Relations Committees of other countries. He argued that the Executive and President should be left to deal with reconstruction and development and that Members of Parliament, who were dealing with constituencies which were in conflict, were better mandated to implement and sustain peace on the ground. His concern was that in both the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe, the people were neglected and therefore peace had not been sustained.

Mr. Mubu agreed with his colleagues and said that comprehensive oversight reports by the Committee on the situations in the Zimbabwe, DRC and Sudan could influence the Executive’s decisions on issues within these countries.

The Chairperson summarized that the Committee would apply for a multi-party delegation (consisting of Members from the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Relations) to undertake a visit to Zimbabwe to assess the progress of the implementation of the GPA in Zimbabwe and to meet with some of the stakeholders, especially Parliamentary counterparts as well as some of the constituencies who could brief the delegation on the obstacles with regard to the GPA process.

Mr. T Magama (ANC) suggested that the impact of the R100 million spent from the ARF should also be assessed.

Mr. Mokgalapa supported the fact that an oversight visit was necessary to monitor spending of the ARF. The Auditor-General relied on the Committee to report on whether the money was indeed being spent where it was intended and whether it was yielding the desired results. The issue of Zimbabwe was a thorny issue, but the bigger issue for the nation’s tax payer was the issue of the ARF. Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, CEO of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Secretariat, had offered to address the Committee on the functions of NEPAD and Mr. Mokgalapa believed that understanding the scope of both the ARF and NEPAD was important in the Committee’s oversight role in Zimbabwe.

The Chairperson said that oversight for the Committee meant travelling to foreign countries and he would motivate that travelling should not be included under ‘study tours’, of which two were permitted per five years, but as oversight visits, as the nature of the work that the Committee was doing was ‘outward looking’. Programmes for 2010, starting in April, would include a new approach. These would include oversight visits to monitor the ARF, as well as diplomatic and peace-keeping missions in foreign countries.

Ms Sundunza said that there was a move by other African countries to move the Pan African Parliament away from South Africa. It was important for the Committee to understand the issues of the people in the foreign countries. She felt that the budget for trips had not adequate and with the new approach motivated by the Chairperson, the Committee could cover the scope of International Relations with the various foreign countries. 

Mr Skosana said that the Chairperson’s motivation for oversight visits needed to be supported. Foreign Diplomats should be met with one voice from Government and there needed to be synergy on issues of public and national interest.

The Chairperson said that workshops would equip the Committee with focus on issues of national and public interest.

Mr Skosana believed that the media should be invited to these workshops as they interacted with the public in all languages and were important in communicating issues to the community.

The Chairperson said that Community Forums, as well as experts from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), should be given the opportunity to give perspective and inform the Committee on foreign policy.

Mr Mokgalama said that an academic debate on what was national interest was not solving problems on the ground and that the Committee should move away from academia and focus on the interest of the people.

Focus for 2010
The Chairperson said that the 2010 FIFA World Cup meant that foreign diplomats would be hosted in State Protocol Lounges at international airports. He felt that the Committee should undertake a tour to check on these facilities as they were also part of DIRCO.

Mr Skosana said that the Committee should insist on playing a positive role, particularly in meeting with the visiting Heads of States, where they could discuss foreign relations issues and have a positive long term relationship with these and other international dignitaries.

Ms Sunduza agreed with Mr Skosana and said that other foreign Governments took foreign relations more seriously than the South African Government. Any Parliamentary interaction with foreign dignitaries was a reflection on the Committee.

The Chairperson suggested that ideally all Members of Parliament should undergo training for honourable interaction with foreign diplomats. He also suggested that the Committee Members should take interest in the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry as there were many issues which overlapped between the two Committees. The meeting times on Wednesday clashed at present, but formal sessions would be arranged.

In terms of the International Agreements in accordance with 1996 Constitution, the focus for Committee in 2010 was to address the challenge the Committee had with involvement only at the end of the international negotiation processes. A clear framework for negotiations of agreements, briefings by the Department on key policy issues, consideration of these by the Committee and mechanisms to monitor and oversee compliance was required. This way, the Committee will be able to determine whether projects were indeed receiving allocations in terms of the Act and that those projects which received disbursements from the ARF were in compliance according to the Act.

In 2009, the Government announced the initiation of a process for the formation of SADPA (South African Development Partnership Agency) and it was debated whether it would replace the ARF or run parallel to it. The Committee expected the Department to brief the Committee on how legislation of the process would be initiated and the role that the Committee would play in the process.

Mr Skosana said that the Executive, as well as the Committee and the Speaker’s Office, would play a role in legislation. In terms of the International Agreements and formation of Agencies, he suggested that the Chair should meet with the Speaker and also the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group on International Relations (PGIR) and clear issues which impacted on the sovereign authority, which were the people of the country. If legislation was left to the Executive alone, there would be a need to review legislation to accommodate the people.

The Chairperson said that the Committee candidates who may be required to go to Somalia to follow up on the peace processes would be protected under diplomatic protection.

Ms Sunduza and Mr Mubu raised their concerns regarding the Committee’s involvement in Morocco. The ambassador representing South Africa in Morocco had not been accredited in Morocco and the ambassador to South Africa had been recalled. Therefore there was no formal diplomatic relations at present with regards to Western Sahara.

The Chairperson requested that the researchers do background work to establish what interventions had been done by South Africa with regard to the situation in Western Sahara. Another international concern was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A visit to this region could include visits to Iran and Syria as these areas were of interest to the Committee. Since the US and Egypt mediated the peace process, witnessing the situation in both Palestine and Israel firsthand would be of particular interest to the Committee and its relations with all countries involved.

The Chairperson asked for an explanation on the significance of the African Union’s (AU) decision to support SA in its bid for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations.

Mr. Skosana suggested that after receiving the research material on Morocco and Israel, the Committee should set a date for briefings by the Department on interventions in Morocco and the Middle East and also on the non-permanent seat as it relates to the AU decisions. Thereafter the Committee could announce the steps it would take toward making decisions.
 
It was imperative that the Committee, as Members of the Legislature, should engaged with the Legislature of other countries which incurred problems. Conflict should not be left to the Executive, which exercised a different level of power. Members of Parliament needed to use the voice of the Legislature – the voice of the sovereign, in the name of the people. This level of power had long been neglected.

The Chairperson said that the refined activities for 2010/11 and the Draft Report on activities and challenges would be commented on in the next meeting. The issue of approved budgets having to be approved again had been a frustration for the Committee and had created challenges. This would be addressed with the House Chair and the Chairperson would report back to the Committee.

Ms Sunduza suggested that a statement on Haiti be made from the Committee.

The Chairperson said that on the Executive level, a Cabinet Committee led by the Minister of International Relations and Minister of Traditional Affairs was dealing with Haiti. Though he wished to express solidarity on behalf of the Committee, he would initiate discussion through the Speaker’s Office regarding what the Executive Committee was currently doing in that regard.

Mr Skosana said that a statement was overdue and encouraged the Chair to make a statement in the House using information from the Department which was also overseeing aid to Haiti.

The Chairperson said that he was aware that there had been an initiative of aid to Haiti through SAA, which was part of Public Enterprise, and that DIRCO was also involved. There appeared to be overlapping of functions in Parliament and this would be addressed.

The meeting was adjourned.