Human Settlements: Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report 2010

Meeting report

Draft Budget Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR)
Ms Berenice Paulse, the Senior Researcher, read the Draft Budget Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR) page by page.

Members suggested that separate paragraphs explaining the observation of the Committee and that of the Department had to be added to the report; they also stated the need to distinguish the Committee’s role and mandate from that of the Parliament. Members also suggested that challenges highlighted by the Department had to be stated in the Report. The Committee was not impressed with the Department for giving them outdated information.

The Chairperson informed the Committee that information from the Department which had been promised by the afternoon of that same day was still awaited. Some of the information that was still outstanding from the report included an analysis of the Department’s Prevailing Strategic and Operational Plan; the performance summary of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC); the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) Report; Programme 4 of the Virements and Shift Funds, which was still mistakenly omitted in the amended draft; the 2009-2010 Budget Vote Report; and a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA). This last report seemed to have disappeared as the relevant people who were supposed to know where it was had no clue as to its existence.

Discussion
Mr M Mdakane (ANC) praised the team for the excellent job of compiling the Report. He suggested that the team had to include in the introduction of the Report a list of the documents which it had taken the information; he also recommended that the Committee had to raise the issue of repairing the defective houses as a recommendation to the Minister.

The Chairperson informed the Members that the Committee had asked for a report of SCOPA from the relevant people and even from Parliament, but no one seemed to know of its existence or where it was kept. She also suggested that the Committee had to recommend to Parliament that legislation like the Housing Act 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997) be given a closer look in order to reduce the number of defective houses.

Ms M Borman (ANC) was very impressed with the home work done by the team in compiling the Report. She suggested that one of the Committee’s recommendations to Parliament must be the passing of legislation that would help with the enforcement of penalties on contractors who built houses with defects.

Mr A Figlan (DA) suggested that the Committee had to emphasise in its recommendations to Parliament that NHBRC ought to register all complete all Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) projects.   

The Report was adopted with amendments.

The meeting was adjourned.