Cancellation of meeting with Department of Economic Development; Outstanding Committee Minutes

Meeting report

The Chairperson advised the Committee that all Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Directors General and senior staff of government departments had been summoned to attend an extended Cabinet lekgotla.  As a result, the planned briefing by the Department of the Economic Development on the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission had been rescheduled for October 9, and the Committee would deal with the consideration and adoption of its backlog of minutes.

Outstanding Committee Minutes
The Chairperson tabled 10 sets of minutes for consideration. All were approved with minor alterations:

Meeting of February 14, 2012      Proposed: Mr D Gamede (ANC, KwaZulu-Natal); Seconded: Mr A Nyambi (ANC, Mpumalanga)
Meeting of March 6, 2012           Proposed: Mr Nyambi; Seconded: Ms E van Lingen (DA, Eastern Cape).
Meeting of March 13, 2012          Proposed: Mr Gamede; Seconded: Mr Nyambi.
Meeting of March 24, 2012          Proposed: Mr B Mnguni (ANC, Free State); Seconded: Mr Gamede.
Meeting of May 8, 2012             Proposed: Mr Gamede; Seconded: Mr K Sinclair (COPE, Northern Cape)
Meeting of May 14, 2012            Proposed: Mr Gamede; Seconded: Ms B Abrahams (DA, Gauteng).
Meeting of May 22, 2012            Proposed: Mr Gamede; Seconded: Mr Mnguni.
Meeting of May 29, 2012            Proposed: Mr Gamede; Seconded: Ms Abrahams
Meeting of June 5, 2012              Proposed: Mr Gamede; Seconded: Mr Nyambi
Meeting of August 7, 2012          Proposed: Mr Gamede; Seconded: Mr Nyambi

Discussion
During discussion, Members expressed concern about the register of attendance at meetings. They drew attention to presenters not being listed and Members not being recorded as being present. It was commented that on occasions, some Members left meetings after signing the register and did not participate fully in the proceedings. It was suggested that a minimum time for attendance at meetings should be prescribed, and that a copy of the register should be attached to the minutes of each meeting.

The Chairperson raised the issue of concentrating on the development of small business enterprises as a force for economic growth, linking this to a possible study tour in 2013 to Malaysia or other countries which had successfully implemented this strategy. He also stressed the need for the Committee to shift its focus from the Parliamentary boardrooms, to oversight. Experience at recent oversight visits had shown the value of having relevant departments accompanying the Committee, as this resulted in inter-action with communities and local authorities, and commitment from departments. This approach had not led to a “blame game,” but rather each party accepting responsibility for action that needed to be taken. For service delivery to be achieved, it was important for national, provincial and local government to work together, and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) was the “glue brush” to make this happen.

The meeting was adjourned.