The Committee receives its mandate from the following sources;

1. The Constitution
2. Joint Rules of Parliament
3. Rules of the National Council of Provinces
4. Resolutions of the National Council of Provinces

1. Clear appraisal or performance measurement and monitoring system in the department required. To avoid the result that the development of programmes becomes a hit and miss affair.
2. Ensure the planning and integration of departmental activities with those of other departments. Examples are ‘white elephant’ projects and the selling off of land suitable for housing. Select Committees should work together to help ensure adequate planning and delivery. Provincial inputs could play a key role in providing the information that this monitoring is based on. A parallel proposal was that the business plans for specific projects be submitted to the Committee for scrutiny before the department accepts them. As a general rule the department should not sell off land, but rather try to transfer it to other government departments that may need land.
3. Monitor and avoid under-spending and fiscal dumping. The formulation of Key Performance Indicators and clear business plans will help to prevent this. The early warning systems put in place by the requirements of the PFMA will facilitate timely interventions to curb these problems. One particularly useful tool is the monthly expenditure statements issued by national Treasury for each national department.
4. Creation of the State Property Management Company (SPMC). The Committee would need regular progress reports on the creation of the SPMC. The Committee would also need to consider issues around the implementation of the proposed 5-year monopoly of the SMPC. Of particular concern is the capacity of the SMPC to service demand during the monopoly period and a lack of clarity over what the role of the SPMC would be at provincial level.
5. Massive Public Works Programme. The Committe express the need to follow-up on existing CBPW projects before this programme is extended. Special attention should be given to an evaluation of the effectiveness of projects in alleviating poverty. Sustainability and the targeting of the poorest of the poor should be a priority. In the creation of the proposed new program, measures should be proposed to address problems that currently challenge CBPW Projects, namely high staff turnover and budget cuts.
6. Ensure empowerment through state tenders on public projects. Regulations and policy ought to be in place. The Committee do not think that adequate progress had been made in this regard.
1. Complettion of the Asset Register. The Committee has reservations about the Department proactiveness in this regard.
2. Performance measurement in the department and in the private sector. Whether the Department have the capacity to enforce minimum standards in the private sector.

1. Capacity of service deliver in local authorities and in the delivery system generally. This can be addressed by the creation of ‘housing desks’ in each municipality. Their job would be to co-ordinate and monitor projects. There would be a need to build capacity in these ‘desks’. The line of accountability would run from ward committee to local council to district council to the provincial department of local government and housing and finally to the national Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG). It is important to involve the DPLG who will pick up problems early enough to address them.
2. Rural Housing and Tenure. Cooperation and coordination between the the national Departments of Land Affairs, Housing, Provincial and Local Government, Health, Social Development, Education, Transport, as well as parastatals and traditional leaders. Rural communities should be able to access houses where they live. If there is a law that prevents rural communities from accessing land or the housing subsidy, this needs to be amended. The Housing Code could to serve as a resource document on different models of achieving tenure and housing. The currently used model of ‘project based provision’ is not the only procedure outlined in the Housing Code. Alternative procedures could allow rural communities to access subsidies in the rural areas, removing tenure as an obstacle. The Committee resolved to obtain a copy of the Code from the national Department within one month.
3. Alienation / sale of subsidy houses. A moritorium on the alienation / sale of state subsidy houses should be effectively enforced. Provincial and national departments of housing should monitor the identity of the occupants of subsidized housing in order to prevent ‘informal’ sales and transfers of title deeds.
4. Provision of affordable rental housing. People who do not want to draw down their subsidies in the areas where they work should benefit from this alternative housing system. Important challenges to government in this regard are the collection of rentals and maintenance of rental stock. Government does not have a good track record as landlord, and it may therefore be necessary to involve the private sector and/or communities in this regard. The process should start by provinces doing detailed needs analyses. It is also important to provide low cost rental housing on different scales in order to provide access to different levels of poor people.
5. Problem of redlining: The Committee undertake to lobby the national Department of Housing to take this up directly with financial institutions and use government contracts as leverage. The Committee hopes to summon regular report-back from the Department on progress in this regard.
6. Rollovers and the size of new allocations to provincial departments. Swift interventions by the national Department is desirable to circumvent possible rollovers. Provincial standing committees should also exercise their oversigth function more expeditiously to obliterate this problem. Data should be kept on the number of indigent people unable to pay services in each local government area should be collected by that local authorities. Regulations are also needed with regard to the attachment of property, especially in cases where the amount of money involved is relatively small.
7. Removal of asbestos roofs at affected communities. The Committee undertake to lobby relevant national and provincial Departments as well as other stakeholders. Sharing information and research on this issue is a priority. Further research needs will be identified at that time.
8. Immediate implementation of the Housing Amendment Act. After the scrapping of the provincial housing boards, advisory panels to the Minister/MEC’s should be appointed as a matter of urgency.
9. Diminish informal settlements. Land formerly occupied by informal settlements should be developed to discourage further unlawful occupations.
10. Promotion of People’s Housing Process Projects. The national Department should come up with a strategy for this within one month.
11. Hostel development. The involvement of all relevant stakeholders is the cornerstone of achieving this goal. The process should be guided by clear specifications from national Department of Housing who should also report regularly to the Committee on progress in this regard.
12. The impact of Grootboom case. Prioritizes service delivery in terms of housing provision.
13. Promotion of housing savings scheme initiatives. Accessing housing finance and thus reducing dependency on grants.

1. Railway safety. Legislation and regulations to ensure safety of railways is imminent. Provisions are also needed to stop the theft and purchase of cables. There is also a need for additional infrastructure to ensure safety. There is concern about the capacity to implement the proposed safety legislation. Capacity is needed to audit, inspect and investigate.
2. Budget shortfalls and maintenance of roads, rail, and bus networks. This is a central issue for the department. It has a large impact on the maintenance of existing assets as well as the development of new initiatives such as the recapitalisation of the taxi industry.
3. Transport as a basic social need (as stipulated in page 4 of the RDP). This should also be reflected at provincial level by including transport in the basket of social services at provincial level in the application of the ‘85%-15% guideline’ in the division of funds in provincial budgets.
4. The establishment of the South African National Roads Agency (SANRA) has not benefited local communities. SANRA would be summoned to give regular report to the Committee on progress in this regard.
5. Policy for the establishment of toll roads should be revisited because these sometimes deny rural communities access to the road network.
6. Existing railway lines should be upgraded and coaches refurbished to acceptable standards in order to attract commuters.
7. Fragmentation of the national Department of Transport since 1994. Management rules should be clearly defined and legislation drafted to ensure accountability of all the arms of the transport sector to the Minister and Parliament. The above fragmentation has also resulted in a shortage of technical capacity at both national and provincial levels. The remuneration of technical staff should be re-considered in order to address this shortage.
8. Revisit Shovakalula. This project has not been implemented as promised. Bicycles are not being sold for half-price as promised. Commercial activities (spaza shops) around the distribution of the bicycles are also putting a strain on other local activities.
9. Re-capitalisation of the taxi industry and public transport in rural areas. The national Departments of Transport and Trade and Industry should meet to clarify their respective roles in the recapitalisation process. They should report to the SC within thirty days of this meeting.
10. The classification of roads should be clarified.
11. Preventing overloading of trucks and vehicles. Law enforcement with regards to overloading should be intensified. Owners of distribution companies should also be culpable, not just the drivers. The efficiency of Transnet should be improved in order to provide an alternative mode of moving goods.
12. NEPAD and the coordination of transport linkages with the rest of Africa. The SC should be briefed on SADC agreements and the specific developments pertaining to transport.
13. Distribution of subsidies between current forms of transport and geographical areas. Policy should clearly prioritise the subsidy for rural commuters, including people with disabilities, scholars and the aged. Special provision should be made to transport pensioners to pay points.
14. Coordination of provincial and national planning and the effectiveness of the Transport MINMEC (MINCOM).
15. A Comprehensive Road Development Plan and patterns of transport to be in place.
16. Recapitalisation of the taxi industry. Lobby National Treasury to fund the project.

1. Effective oversight of over relevant constitutional institutions and executive organs. The ability of the Committee to oversee Departments will be bolstered this year with the tabling of Strategic Plans and Annual Reports containing reporting on departmental performance. Hearings on and consideration of these documents could from the focus of the Committee’s work in 2002.
2. Cooperation between the Select Committees on Public Services, Finance, Land and Environment Affairs, and Local Government and Administration as well as Portfolio Committees on Housing, Public Works and Transport to share information and focus around related central points or set of issues.
3. Enhance cooperative governance. To ensure coordination and interaction as well as the exchange information between the NCOP and provincial legislatures. Furthermore, the size of the area that the Committee can cover is also constrained by limited designated research and administrative support. Again strong linkages and regular interaction with provincial legislatures could provide additional support to the Committee.
4. Related to the above, interdepartmental coordination and the targeting of resources (to the poorest of the poor and rural areas) is desirable.
5. SALGA and planning integration with local authorities. Many of the Committee’s oversight areas involve local government in implementation. In order to bolster the Committees capacity to monitor these areas, it is recommended that it consider its relationship with SALGA as a matter of urgency. The Committe could gain direct access to the relevant local authorities through the SALGA representatives in the NCOP.
6. Planning and external delays. The work of the Committee is often disrupted by undue delays external to the committee, for example the slow passage of Section 75 Bills legislation through the NA. This implies that detailed annual plan will continue to elude the Committee. The only way to address this would be to plan only along broad lines or priorities so as to allow for maximum flexibility. Unnecessary delays to approve Committee meetings and fund applications by the Committee to function effectively is another major issue for concern.

Transport;

Public Works;