Energy Portfolio Committee Report, Committee Programme & 5-year Committee Plan

Meeting report

The Chairperson briefly referred to the Committee Workshop that was held at Gordons Bay during the weekend of 11 to 13 August 2009. She stated that it was a useful exercise as she was better informed about the nature and scope of the work required of the Committee. She was also educated about which entities it needed to engage with and what oversight activities it should prioritise.

Consideration and Adoption of Committee Programme for Second Term
The Chairperson requested Members to review the document and make changes to it.

Mr I Schmidt (DA) proposed that the date for the member training be moved to either earlier in November or the end of October. He explained that the scheduled dates were not suitable for him as they conflicted with other commitments that he had.

The Chairperson replied that she would look into this and it and update the programme accordingly.

The Committee adopted the programme.

Consideration and Adoption of Committee Report on its Introductory Content Based Workshop
The Chairperson tabled the Report and encouraged Members to make any input regarding its content.

Members examined each page and corrected all the minor errors contained in the Report.

The Committee adopted the report with amendments.

Consideration and Adoption of Committee Five-year Plan
The Chairperson mentioned that according to the guidelines of Parliament, the Committee was entitled to 2 domestic oversights and 2 international visits over the 5 year period. This was out of order as there were too many domestic issues to be considered. These included nuclear, gas, electricity and petroleum to mention but a few. Beside the domestic issues, the Committee also had to look at what was international best practice and visit those countries.

Mr Schmidt noted that the Committee was only expected to reach a decision on the country’s nuclear policy in March 2013. He argued that this issue was urgent and that the date should be brought forward.

The Committee agreed that the time frame (for the debate on nuclear policy) was too long.

Mr P Dexter (COPE) advised that the Committee should focus on policy issues during the next term, and finalise its policy on nuclear power as soon as possible.

The Committee accepted this recommendation.

Mr S Motau (DA) referred to the report and emphasised that the role of the Committee was not just about assessing certain projects, but was also about taking action.

The Committee agreed with this observation.

Mr Dexter indicated that the Committee must also come up with recommendations, put measurable outputs in place, draft short and long term plans, promote action plans and ask questions and implement what was in the policy.

The Chairperson agreed with this and added that the Committee should re-look at its strategic objectives at their next meeting.

The Committee incorporated the Members views and adopted the 5-year plan.

The meeting was adjourned.