Election of the Chairperson; Committee Programme

Meeting report

Election of the Chairperson
The meeting was opened by the Committee Secretaries Ms Zandi Hali and Mr Darren Arendse. Nominations were called for the position of chairperson. Mr N Gcwabaza (ANC), seconded by Dr C Madlopha (ANC) nominated Mr S Mashatile (ANC). He accepted the nomination and was duly elected.

The Chairperson asked members to introduce themselves. The other members of the ANC present were Ms R Nyalunga, Mr M Manana and Ms S Shope-Sithole. The DA was represented by Mr M Figg, the EFF by Mr G Gaarde and the NFP by Mr A Shaik. Also present were the committee assistant, three researchers and the research coordinator, and members of the media.

The Chairperson expressed trust that the team would work well together. The main purpose of this committee was to monitor expenditure of government departments. It would assist government to avoid wasteful expenditure. Government had specific priorities, and a lot of work lay ahead in ensuring that the budget would be directed towards bringing about a better life for all.

Committee Programme
The draft of the committee’s first term programme was looked at. At the next meeting Members will be briefed by content advisors, committee secretaries, and researchers on the budget vote process for Members will gain an understanding of the process and the mandate of the committee. This would be followed by briefings on the Appropriation Bill by stakeholders including National Treasury and Parliamentary Budget Office on 4 July. The Strategic Planning Session will be held on 8 and 9 July. Briefings on the Appropriation Bill will continue on 11 July by the Financial Fiscal Commission. On 18 July the committee will be briefed by and the Public Service Commission and other stakeholders. Finally, by 22 July, the committee’s First Draft Report should be adopted. Members agreed to the programme.

The Committee's assigned meeting day is Friday but it has a big workload and it was felt that one day per week to meet was not sufficient. It was also felt that Friday was less productive than other days of the week. Wednesday was proposed as an additional day for meetings. The Committee would negotiate with the House Committee Chairperson for the additional day.

The meeting was adjourned.