SC Security: Outstanding Reports

Meeting report

Outstanding Reports for Consideration
The Chairperson tabled two outstanding reports for consideration. The reports dealt with Practical Guidelines for Employees in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act and the Protection of Constitutional Democracies against Terrorists and related activities.

The Chairperson briefly summarised the contents of the reports and allowed Members an opportunity to scan through them.

The Committee was satisfied with both reports and adopted them without amendments.

Status of Study Tour
The Chairperson noted that the Committee was scheduled to embark on an international study tour in May. However, this trip would have to be postponed. The Chief Whip had advised that no members would be allowed to travel abroad until after the municipal elections. This would have immediate effect. The Chairperson was supposed to travel to the UK, Canada and Sweden but this would have to be pushed back until June.

Discussion
Mr D Bloem (COPE, Free State) asked if the Committee’s budget would be carried over to the next term.

Mr A Matila (ANC Gauteng) wanted the Chairperson to find out if it was possible for the Committee to pay for travel expenses that would be pushed back because of the municipal elections from this terms budget instead of next terms.

Mr Bloem asked if they could not make the bookings now and pay out of this terms budget so that the next terms would not be used.

Mr L Nzimande (ANC, KwaZulu-Natal) stated that there were no rollovers. The trips they would do next term would come out of next terms budget, they could not simply book trips now; that was not how it worked.

Mr M Mokgobi (ANC, Limpopo) disagreed and said it could still be done.

Mr Nzimande reiterated that it did unfortunately not happen like that. For example, Parliament did not allow committees to use this year’s budget for something happening next year. He suggested that as overseas was off the table they could rather visit provinces in South Africa where they still had work to do this term.

Mr Mokogobi agreed that if it could not be done, the Committee should at least use the budget for their national projects.
Mr Matila suggested that if the Committee met next week, it could revise the programme to take these changes in account.

The Chairperson said that as the trip next week to the Free State had been postponed, the Committee could do as the Member suggested and amend the Committee programme.

The Chairperson handed out the report from the SAPS so that the Members could go through it at their own pace and prepare for when the SAPS would appear before the Committee.

The meeting was adjourned.