Third Term Committee Programme: consideration

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International Relations

19 June 2013
Chairperson: Magama, Mr T (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Committee considered its programme for the next term. This would include the deferred Committee report on its oversight visit to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, a symposium on Cuba, a dialogue for a deeper understanding of the Middle East, a report on Palestine and Israel, and 'the 14 August Report'. The only new proposals related to the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa group of countries (BRICS) and the draft white paper on South Africa’s participation in international peace missions. This draft white paper had also been referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

The Committee adopted its programme with amendments while noting that the Committee’s agenda would remain flexible given that international relations was a field where things happened everyday.
 

Meeting report

Introduction
The Chairperson welcomed Members and noted an apology from Mr S Ngonyama (COPE) who had to attend a Southern African Development Community (SADC) parliamentary forum meeting in Botswana. He hoped that some more Members would arrive. 

South African schoolteachers kidnapped in Yemen
He referred to the matter of two schoolteachers, Pierre and Yolanda Korkie, abducted in Taiz, Yemen. The initial information was that they might have been kidnapped by al-Qa'ida, but there were now indications that they might be held by a criminal gang. He added that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation was working on the matter together with other South African organisations who were involved and using their contacts and knowledge to try to get the pair released. He hoped that they would be found and returned home safely.

Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria
He continued to say that there were reports received the previous day of intensive attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria. Members of this terrorist group had apparently seized nine pupils at a private school and executed them in cold blood for being in support of the army. This was a very sad development and he hoped that the Nigerians would find a way to quell the developments there and bring peace to that country. The conflict had been long standing and had also been newly fuelled by the flow of arms into Nigeria. He wished the Nigerian people all the best and hoped that they could find a way of bringing an end to the conflict. He emphasised how sad it was that children were rounded up and killed. It was barbaric to say the least.

Further developments awaited on the National Development Plan (NDP) Chapter 7
There was no point in discussing the issue when the matter was not yet finalised but they should know that it was not off the table and that it would come into the Committee's programme next term.

Committee's third term programme
He went through the programme and said that most of the issues had already been raised but deferred until a later stage. These were issues such as a dialogue for a deeper understanding of the Middle East, the report on Palestine and Israel, 'the 14 August Report', and the oversight visit to DIRCO. The symposium on Cuba was still the same. Then there was the consultative seminar. The only new proposals were the one related to the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa group of countries (BRICS) and the draft white paper on South Africa’s participation in international peace missions. This draft white paper had also been referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence so both the Committees would have to confer on it.

Discussion
Ms L Jacobus (ANC) did not understand why the 14 August Committee oversight visit was being considered only now. The Committee needed to be swift on dealing with its oversight reports and recommendations to the Department.

The Chairperson replied that the Committee had extensive discussion the previous week but decided not to adopt the report yet as matters around the National Development Plan (NDP) had also arisen and to the extent that they were relevant to this report they were to be engaged with. He took her point and noted that it was on the programme yet again. She was right that the report took too long.

Ms C September (ANC) agreed with Ms Jacobus. She proposed that the report be prioritised for adoption because the Committee's understanding was that it went to DIRCO to do the oversight and was emphatic on the issues that were dealt with there. The Committee had dealt with the Departments’ previous budget and felt the need to go and discuss a range of different issues. It would be wise of the Committee to finish with that report. She added that she was in agreement with the Chairperson and that with other issues the Committee could deal with them in due course. 

Ms Jacobus asked also about the symposium on Cuba. She thought that the Committee had reached sufficient consensus and that the Committee had decided to visit Cuba.

Ms September (ANC) agreed with Ms Jacobus on this issue too. The Cuban matter needed to be looked into. 

Mr I Davidson (DA) said that the draft white paper needed to be put on the agenda as well as the revised document on Chapter 7 because the Committee’s job was oversight to see if that document came into line with the NDP. The Committee had spoken about Swaziland and that it needed to be addressed. He added that he was not sure what the symposium on Cuba would achieve in terms of gaining knowledge of understanding on international relations.

Ms Jacobus stated that the issue of the NDP must not be confused with the oversight report, which was independent of the NDP. 

Mr E Sulliman (ANC) said that when Parliament opened for the next quarter, the first week would be Committee Week. He asked if it was possible to shift the report to the first week because he was worried that the political parties would afterwards be busy preparing for elections.

The Chairperson preferred to keep the oversight report and the NDP matter separate, since at the time of the oversight visit the NDP was not an issue.

However, to accommodate the views of Mr Davidson the oversight report had been deferred for another discussion. He did not want last week’s discussion to happen again so he was closing the discussion. The matter would be back on the agenda for the last time next term. 

Mr M Booi (ANC) seconded Mr Sulliman’s recommendation.

Ms September wanted the Committee to consider engaging with the white paper with a view to the correct wording on how it was referred to the Committee and Members should have a view that they should open it up to the public sphere.

Ms September said that if the Cuban matter was deferred 'then it must be dealt with' but the ANC was comfortable with it.

The Chairperson responded that the Committee decided about two years ago to look into South Africa-Cuba relations but there were issues on the writing off of debt and there was no Cuban ambassador until recently.

The Committee had also invited the representatives of the USA, but they were unable to respond, and the committee had decided to create another opportunity outside of a formal committee meeting setting. There was a view that the USA's representative would want to engage the Committee privately as in the US political culture there was quite a different understanding of the implications of meeting with a parliamentary committee. The committee structure of the US Congress and the way in which committees there conducted their meetings was quite different from the structure of South African parliamentary committees and the way they worked and were perceived. 

There was generally an understanding that the programme would retain its flexibility so that it allowed for issues such as the Zimbabwean elections that did not have a definite date. The programme must be cognisant of the fact that international relations was a field where things happened all the time and there might be a need to raise some other issues which might not necessarily be on the programme.

The committee adopted the programme with amendments.

The meeting was adjourned.
 

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