Report on Activities of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, November 2001-October 2002, dated 30 October 2002:

The rules of Parliament provide for Portfolio Committees, inter alia, (1) to deal with legislation referred to them by the House, including hearing from interested parties and proposing amendments; (2) to oversee the work of the corresponding Ministry and government Department; and (3) to make policy proposals. The Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry has been active at all of these levels. It has been responsible for processing bills introduced by the Minister of Trade and Industry, which has frequently involved holding public hearings and proposing amendments. Together with the Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs in the National Council of Provinces, with which the Committee has worked closely, a number of oversight and monitoring activities were initiated. Regular briefings on the work of the various divisions of the Department of Trade and Industry and associated structures have also been organised.

Representatives of the eight parties represented in the National Assembly have been deployed to the Committee. The Chairperson is Dr Rob Davies of the ANC. Mr Edgar de Koker is the Control Committee Secretary, Ms Lungi Matshikiza the Committee Secretary and Mr Martiens Erasmus the Committee Assistant. Mr Ekhsaan Jawoodien of the Parliamentary Research Unit has provided research assistance.

1. Statistics
The Portfolio Committee met 46 times during Parliamentary sessions held between November 2001 and October 2002, in addition to meetings held during two oversight visits to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Tshwane. Seven Bills were presented to the Committee. In addition to formal reports in connection with bills, the Committee tabled three reports that were published in the Announcements, Tabling and Committee Reports (ATC) bulletin in the course of the year. Minister Alec Erwin participated in two committee meetings, Director-General Dr Alistair Ruiters in six, and several other DTI officials in others.

2. Legislation
Seven Bills were referred to the Committee during the course of the year. The following is a summary of the main provisions of the legislation referred to the Committee:

Copyright and Performers Protection Amendment Bills (B73 and B74-2001) - concluded and enacted during 2002)
Provides for neighboring right ("needle time") royalty payments to performers in the music industry and for the regulation of collecting societies.

Export Credit and Foreign Investments Re-Insurance Amendment Bill (B29-2002)
Amends certain definitions and provisions to provide greater legal certainty to the operations of the Export Credit Agency in managing long term, political risk insurance for South African companies involved in projects abroad.

Corporate Laws Amendment Bill (B32-2002)
Provides for electronic payment of fees by companies and close corporations; requires the submission of an annual return by companies and close corporations to enable the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) to update its data base.

International Trade Administration Bill (B38-2002)
Establishes a Commission on International Trade Administration (CITA) to replace the Board on Tariffs and Trade and provides for CITA to operate in accordance with the provisions of the revised Southern African Customs Union Agreement (when the latter has force of law in South Africa).

Merchandise Marks Amendment Bill (B63-2002)
Provides for protection particularly of organisers of sporting events from "intrusive" ambush marketing.

Patents Amendment Bill (B64-2002)
Brings South African legislation in line with provisions of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Law (TRIPS) in permitting research by persons other than a patent holder particularly in relation to the production of generic pharmaceutical products.

3. Public hearings and oversight activities initiated by Committee
In addition to public hearings in connection with Bills, the Committee, usually in cooperation with the NCOP Select Committee, initiated the following activities:
Public Hearings on Industrial Policy. This was a highlight of the year'activities. The hearings followed the publication of the DTI's policy document, Accelarating Growth and Development: The Contribution of the Integrated Manufacturing Strategy. The Committees' joint report was published in the ATC Bulletin on 6 June 2002 (p 571 onwards) and a debate on the report was held in the National Assembly on 21 June, after which the Report was adopted by the House.

A Workshop on Small Business Strategy. This was held at the DTI's headquarters in Tshwane ahead of the finalisation of the Department's small business policy document.
Meetings with Department, IDC, Khula, Ntsiki, CSIR in connection with 2002-03 budget. A feature of the Committee's budgetary oversight this year was that it went much further and was more extensive than in previous years. Among other things, we received at our request, and engaged with, a detailed report on the extent to which the Department had achieved the output targets set for it in the 2001-02 budget.

National Lottery distribution and Lotteries policy. Two meetings on this matter were held, jointly with the Social Development Portfolio Committee. Both attracted considerable public attention.

4. Ministerial and departmental briefings
Briefings from the Ministry, Department and associated institutions covered a wide range of topics, and for the first time the Committee interacted in the course of the year with the Department and all institutions that participate in the Council of Trade and Industry Institutions (COTII). Some highlights of these meetings included:
Briefings and discussions on preparations for World Trade Organisation negotiations, as well as on other major regional and bilateral trade issues;
Revisions to small business strategy;
Ports policy as an element of micro-economic reform strategy;
Oversight of Industrial Participation Projects arising from Strategic Defence Procurement Programme;

5. Departmental visits
The Committee paid two oversight visits to the Department in Tshwane during the year. These visits, which we have undertaken for some years now, allow for a particularly productive exchange of views and effective monitoring of activities of the Department.

6. Reports published
In addition to formal reports on bills, the following reports were prepared and published in the ATC:

Report on Findings and Recommendations in "Joint Investigating Report into the Strategic Defence Procurements Packages (RP 184/2001)", Chapter 12. ATC Bulletin, 10 December 2001, adopted by the National Assembly, 13 August 2002.

Report of Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on Budget Vote 31, dated 8 May 2002, ATC Bulletin, 13 May 2002, p 381.

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on public hearings on Industrial Policy, dated 5 June 2002, ATC Bulletin 6 June 2002, adopted by National Assembly 21 June 2002.

7. In conclusion
2002 has been another busy and productive year for the Committee. Several briefings on key policy papers, which had been planned, have, however, had to be held over to next year. These include briefings on:
* Black Economic Empowerment Strategy document
* Small Business Strategy document
* Employment Strategy
* Access to Finance
* Consumer Protection Policy

Several Bills that were intended to be presented to the Committee this year have also been held over.

The Committee's thanks and appreciation are due to a number of people who facilitated our work during the course of the year: to the Minister, Deputy Minister and Director-General, who were always supportive and available; to the Chairperson and members of the NCOP Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs, with whom we worked closely throughout the year; to the Chairperson of Committees and the Chief Whip, who responded positively to a number of requests; to all those who participated in our activities and especially to numerous officials of the DTI and associated institutions with whom we interacted; and to Saroj Naidoo and Johan Strydom, officials responsible for Parliamentary Liaison and Legal Services, respectively, who ensured that communication with the Department and organisation of Bills and other meetings proceeded smoothly.