Committee Legacy Report

Meeting report

Minutes
The Chairperson announced that the Committee was having its last meeting for the term. Members would be allowed to express their sentiments. He called on the Content Advisor, to take the Committee through its Legacy Report.

Mr Ludumo Sishuba, Committee Content Advisor, presented a summarised version of the report which he had prepared for the meeting as it was unnecessary to go through the entire 63-page document. Highlights in the report included the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme and how the Committee paid attention to the alignment of the Jobs Fund and how it can be utilised to stimulate jobs. The Committee further identified a cross-cutting area in terms of the PESP, the Jobs Fund and some of the programmes of the NYDA. The Committee’s approach was cross-sectoral.

There is a section in the report that deals with budget policy issues that must be considered. The Seventh Parliament Committee will have to look at strategic policy going forward after the 2024 elections.

Key Challenges
We need to enhance our capacity and capability to conduct legislative and policy oversight. Building and enhancing technical capacity is a complex exercise that requires resource mobilisation.

Sustained relationships must be built with external stakeholders such as research institutes, academic institutions, and the broader society.

There is also a need to create a transversal MNE Unit that will enhance legislative and policy oversight. This will strengthen the tracking and monitoring of resolution-tracking mechanisms.

The need to create partnerships with stakeholders on international, political and economic issues. When we process international agreements, we find that we are not firming our approach in terms of scrutinising the content and the substantive issues that emanate from those international agreements. Thus, there is a need to engage with external stakeholders on these.

He said the recommendations were framed from the issues that were identified that needed a response. They are aligned with key challenges. He outlined the report and noted that from page three to six, is the introduction – (Section One). Section two deals with the purpose of the report (pages six to seven); section three deals with the functions of the Committee (page seven); section four deals with departments and entities that the Committee is responsible for oversight.

Key focus areas included legislation, oversight trips, study tours and international agreements.

The Committee did not play any role concerning statutory appointments, undertake any specific interventions or receive any petitions to consider for the period under consideration.

Discussion
The Chairperson welcomed the summary of the report which was done efficiently.

Ms H Boshoff (DA, Mpumalanga) asked the Content Advisor to correct the DA and EFF alternate members as they were changed a long time ago.

Mr K Mmoiemang (ANC, Northern Cape) welcomed the report and appreciated the emphasis on industrial policy strategies and how these initiatives should find expression in rural development. The Committee has lamented that government needs to ensure that this strategy also finds expression in smaller provinces and rural communities.

Mr Mmoiemang commented that the Copyright Amendment Bill has not yet been signed which the Committee had worked on. It is also an area of focus for the Seventh Parliament to see it implemented.

The Chairperson appreciated the report and the recommendations for the next Committee. The Committee had consistently raised that the focus of department programmes in the annual performance plan focus on the major provinces and cities, neglecting other provinces like the Eastern Cape. The focus should be on plans and budgets allocated to implementing work in all provinces, metros and districts, with a specific emphasis on the neglected and isolated provinces.

More time should be granted to Committee oversight work. Discussion between Committees should be encouraged. There must be a greater bias on committee work rather than plenary sessions because the responsibility of parliamentary committees is accountability of the executive. In plenaries, we table reports and debates which do not do much in ensuring the accountability of the executive. Therefore, more time should be granted for Committee work.

Sister committees need to collaborate and establish joint arrangements to prevent inefficient use of resources. This practice should be encouraged for future committees. Also recommended to the next committee is to focus on following up on cooperatives and SMEs as these areas were not covered.

The Chairperson said that the next Committee needs to consider public interest issues and he cited the Thuja Capital-UIF legal matter. This will allow Parliament to contribute towards resolving issues that are important to the public. However, he noted that it did not prioritize corruption in the National Lotteries Commission, which is also a matter of public concern. There may still be several of these issues that need to be addressed, which is why a resolution tracking mechanism is recommended. Once a matter has been tabled in the House, the Office of the Chairperson should follow up immediately on the implementation of the recommendations. This approach was taken with the Department of Tourism during an oversight visit to the Northern Cape, where the Committee raised the matter and subsequently ensured that it was resolved.

Mr Mmoiemang welcomed the point covered in the report about the reforms introduced in the logistics industry that benefitted provinces. The introduction of third-party access to the freight rail sector is a huge commitment to transport reforms. He noted how the report cites the realisation of economic growth.

Mr Mmoiemang said that how the parliamentary committees are reconfigured must be aligned with the broader sectoral work to flag issues in the economic cluster.

Committee Legacy Report: adoption
 The Chairperson welcomed the comments and inputs. He invited Members to indicate if they supported the report or not.

Mr Sishuba noted that all matters raised by Members will be added to the report.

Mr M Dangor (ANC, Gauteng) voted in favour of the report.

Ms Grace Dinizulu, Committee Secretary, noted that the report was approved by six members with no objections and one abstention from Ms Boshoff.

The Committee considered and adopted the 16 April minutes.

As this was the last meeting of the term, the Chairperson thanked Members for their participation and appreciated their inputs to ensure that the Committee carried out its mandate. He further thanked the support staff and every stakeholder who made meaningful support to the Committee over the past five years.

Members were invited to make their farewells.

The meeting was adjourned.