Now that the Seventh Parliament has been sworn in, the institution is establishing internal structures to enable its functioning. One of the most critical structures for Parliament's effective functioning is the establishment of its committees.

Committees operate as the central cogs of the parliamentary machinery and are the site where most of the legislature’s business is located. They are the primary forum for oversight.  While it is often the main chambers that garner attention, they ratify work that has been processed, deliberated, negotiated and teased out for months, or sometimes even years, in committees. Think of the committee as a microcosm of Parliament as a whole. The committees must report regularly on their activities and make recommendations to the House for debate and decision. 

Committees have more time to study, interrogate and debate matters. They also provide a platform for the public to engage with lawmakers directly.

The work of a committee traverses the following:

• overseeing Strategic Plans, Annual Performance Plans (APPs), Budgets and Annual Reports of a department and its entities;
• overseeing the implementation of a department and entities’ programmes and budgetary use and their implementation of the National Development Plan thematic areas (for example, quality of education, skills development, healthcare, housing, water, electricity and sanitation);
• processing legislation and statutory appointments;
• holding public hearings on topical issues and legislation;
• holding inquiries;
• undertaking study tours and oversight visits to provinces and entities and engaging other relevant government departments and institutions such as the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC), the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), etc. on sectoral issues. 
• considering international treaties and agreements
• examining specific areas of public life or matters of public interest
• taking care of domestic parliamentary issues

In line with the Westminster tradition, our committees mirror the ministerial or departmental structure adopted by the Executive. Each committee oversees the department and its entities within specific portfolios.

The NA Rules Committee agreed that the establishment of portfolio committees will be deferred until the structure of cabinet is known.

View: First NA Rules Meeting

On the other side, the NCOP agreed to establish ten committees. This is one fewer than in the 6^th Parliament and they have been clustered in line with the government clusters.

View: First NCOP Rules Meeting

The decision to reduce the number of Select Committees to 10 will now mean that the Social Cluster will have two committees. The Select Committee on Education and Technology, Sports, Arts and Culture will oversee the Departments of Basic Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology, Communications and Digital Technologies, and Sports, Arts and Culture. The Select Committee on Social Services will oversee the Departments of Health, Social Development, Women, Youth Development and Persons with Disabilities, and Statistics South Africa.

The Governance Cluster will comprise two committees. They include the Select Committee on Public Infrastructure, overseeing the work of the Departments of Public Works and Infrastructure, Transport, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration, overseeing the Departments ofCo-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Public Service and Administration, Human Settlements, and Water and Sanitation.

The Security Cluster has two committees, namely, the Select Committee on Security and Justice, overseeing the Departments of Police, Justice and Correctional Services, Defence and Military Veterans, Home Affairs, State Security, and International Relations and Co-operation, and the Select Committee on Public Petitions and Executive Undertakings.

Meanwhile, the Economic Cluster will comprise the Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade, overseeing the Departments of Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Competition, Small Business Development and Tourism, Employment and Labour, and Public Enterprises and the Select Committee on Land and Mineral Resources, overseeing the Departments of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Mineral Resources and Energy, and Electricity. 

Finally, the Finance Cluster has the Select Committee on Finance and the Select Committee on Appropriations to oversee the Treasury.

Committees derive their mandate from the Constitution and the Rules of Parliament. They have considerable powers. Committees can summon any person to appear before them, give evidence or produce documents. They may require any person or institution to report to them. Committees may also receive petitions, representations or submissions from the public. The work of Committees is not restricted to the government. They may investigate any matter of public interest that falls within their area of responsibility. We have written more about this here

Given their prominent role, it is important to look into who sits on these structures and how Committee assignments are made. This is especially important considering that their effectiveness depends on the quality of their members.

Committee membership is distributed among the parties roughly in proportion to the seats they get in Parliament, so if a party wins 20% of the seats, its MPs will occupy about 20% of committee positions.

The NA Rules Committee agreed that all Committees would be comprised of 15 Members (up from the 11 in the 6th Parliament): ANC – 5; DA – 3; MK – 2; EFF – 1, and other parties – 4. 

It gives permanent positions to the four largest parties, and the 14 other parties are grouped together to share the remaining slots.

In calculating the numbers, the NA Table confirmed that it looked broadly at the strength of the parties, tried to be accommodating and acknowledged that it was not possible to be exact.

Smaller parties have a handful of representatives (there are 13 parties with fewer than ten members in the Seventh Parliament), and it is impractical for them to have a seat on all Committees. Instead, they need to be tactical, prioritise and negotiate their assignments with the other parties in their bloc.

To balance this, Parliament has agreed that:

-All business in Parliament is open to all members. Members can, therefore, sit in all Committees and participate. The only difference is when it comes to voting, where only Members or their Alternates can exercise this right

Where a matter of national importance is involved, all parties can be involved to give credence to a multi-party South Africa.

The current system gives parties control over determining committee assignments. Therefore, parties can direct what their MPs do in a committee, and often, party interests override everything else.  Rank-and-file members are not free agents, and those who do not follow the party line can be disciplined and expelled.

On the other hand, legislators take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution and should bear the former Chief Justice’s words in mind:

“Central to the freedom “to follow the dictates of personal conscience” is the oath of office. Members are required to swear or affirm faithfulness to the Republic and obedience to the Constitution and laws.

Nowhere does the supreme law provide for them to swear allegiance to their political parties, important players though they are in our constitutional scheme. Meaning, in the event of conflict between upholding constitutional values and party loyalty, their irrevocable undertaking to in effect serve the people and do only what is in their best interests must prevail. This is so not only because they were elected through their parties to represent the people, but also to enable the people to govern through them, in terms of the Constitution.

Chief Justice Mogoeng, (United Democratic Movement v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others [2017] ZACC 21)

 

Committees in Practice

With the agreement of members, the Committee staff sets the dates and times of committee meetings. The frequency of committee meetings is determined by a committee’s work programme, but it is normal for a committee to meet weekly. From time to time, committees can meet more than once a week if their work programme so demands. Multiple meetings occur simultaneously, with MPs dealing with committee work in the morning and plenary business in the afternoon.

Section 59(1)(b) of the Constitution requires that the National Assembly and its committees conduct their business in an open manner and hold their sittings in public. Section 59(2) states that the National Assembly may not exclude the public or the media unless it is ‘reasonable and justifiable to do so in an open and democratic society’. Rule 184(2) of the Rules of the National Assembly further requires that any decision to exclude the public from a committee meeting or part thereof must be taken ‘after due consideration’ by that committee.

Who attends Committee Meetings?

MPs (those assigned to the committee and if they so wish, any other MP)

Committee Staff: Committee Secretary, Committee Assistant, Researcher, Content Advisor

Departments, entities, organisations, individuals and experts who are invited by the Committee to speak and be questioned

Parliamentary Legal Advisor (from time to time)

Media

General Public

Committee Membership

Party leaders do not use a precise formula for determining assignments. Instead, they use a complicated, rigorous process involving balancing acts and negotiations. Experience, seniority, expertise, continuity, competence, and educational background are some of the major factors considered. Adding to this mix are internal party dynamics, gender, youth, and geographical spread.

According to our research, 40% of MPs are newcomers and do not have prior legislature experience. Most will not know about the Committee system, budget cycle, or how to read an Amendment Bill. There is a steep learning curve, and they will need time to develop the specialised knowledge of their Portfolio and build up institutional memory.

Rotating Committee membership can be both good and bad. It can broaden an MP’s experience, bring fresh ideas and counter inertia. On the other hand, too much turnover is undesirable: it is disruptive and weakens the Committee. Many studies draw positive correlations between the number of years on a committee, good leadership, strong support staff, and hardworking/competent Members.

Some Committee assignments are more coveted. Not all Committees are equal. Some are significantly busier and have bigger profiles. Parties value certain government portfolios more than others, which is reflected in their choices. It is, therefore, not uncommon to see senior MPs assigned to the most high-profile committees. See our review of committee work in the Sixth Parliament here

Regardless of the assignment and limitations in the current system, individual MPs can still make an impact and have influence. They can put things in the spotlight and bring forward the concerns of their constituents.

See our review of committee work in the Sixth Parliament here

 

THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES OF PARLIAMENT

Portfolio Committees
The National Assembly (NA) appoints from among its members a number of Portfolio Committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments.


Select Committees
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) appoints from its permanent members several Select Committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments and to deal with Bills. Because only 54 of the 90 NCOP Members are permanent delegates compared to the 400 of the NA, the Select Committees oversee the work of more than one national government department.

Public Accounts Committees
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Public Accounts acts as Parliament’s watchdog over how taxpayers’ money is spent by the Executive. Every year, the Auditor-General reports on the accounts and financial management of various government departments and state institutions. Heads of government departments and institutions are regularly called by this committee to report and account for expenditure. The Committee can recommend that the National Assembly take corrective actions if necessary.

Internal Committees
The National Assembly has several internal committees that deal with matters affecting the running of Parliament. The Committees normally consist of senior Members of Parliament. The Rules Committee and its subcommittees deal with House rules, the budget of the House, support for Members, internal arrangements, and members' powers and privileges. Other internal Committees are the Programme Committee, which plans the work of the Assembly, the Disciplinary Committee, and the Committee of Chairpersons.

The National Council of Provinces has its own domestic Committees. The Rules Committee and its subcommittees deal with the NCOP rules, the NCOP budget, parliamentary privileges, internal arrangements, international relations and delegated legislation. The Programme Committee plans the work of the NCOP, and the Committee of Chairpersons makes recommendations about the functioning of Committees and other NCOP forums.

Ad hoc Committees
Parliament or one of its Houses may appoint an ad hoc (temporary) Committee when a special task must be done. When the task is complete, the Committee is dissolved.

Joint Committees
The National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces together appoint several joint committees, for example the Constitutional Review Committee. The Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence are statutory Committees. This means that they are established by the Constitution or an Act of Parliament, as well as in terms of the rules of Parliament.

Source: parliament.gov.za