Committee Oversight Reports

Meeting report

The Chairperson suggested that the meeting be adjourned for Members to have adequate time to consider the reports properly.

Mr P Van Dalen (DA) asked until when would the meeting be adjourned.

Ms T Mahambehlala (ANC) said it was not necessary for the meeting to be adjourned. The reports were sent to all Members via email and Members should have read through the reports before attending the meeting.

Oversight visit to the Gauteng and North West Province from 21 – 24 July 2015
The Chairperson tabled the document for consideration.

The report was adopted with no changes.

Oversight visit to the Free State Province from 15 – 18 September 2015
The Chairperson tabled the document for consideration.

The report was adopted with no amendments.

Oversight visit to the Eskom Koeberg Nuclear Power Station on 8 September 2015
The Chairperson tabled the document for consideration.

The report was adopted with no changes.

Adoption of Committee Minutes: 1 September 2015
The Chairperson tabled the document for consideration.

The minutes were adopted with no amendments.

Media reporting
Ms Mahambehlala said there was an article in the Sunday Times, written by Mr Jan-Jan Joubert, about the proceedings of last week’s Committee meeting. The information contained in that article was distorted and did not truly reflect the proceedings of the meeting. The article reflected the views of Members of the Democratic Alliance. This was very disturbing and there needed to be a way that the Committee could prevent such things from happening again in the future.

Mr M Plouamma (AGANG) said the Committee should be cautious not to attack the media, every individual had a right to express their views whether the Committee agreed with them or not. He had not read the article, however the next time such a matter arises it should be included in the Committee’s agenda for proper discussion and analysis.

Mr Van Dalen pointed out that the media statements that were put out by the Chairperson were not always a true reflection of the Committee’s views. The Chairperson should consult Members before putting out press statements on behalf of the Committee so that Members could raise their approval or disapproval with the content.

Mr J Esterhuizen (IFP) disagreed with Mr Van Dalen and said it was not necessary for the Chairperson to consult Members of the Committee before putting out a media statement. In the same way that Members of the Committee also did not consult the Chairperson when they were approached by members of the media on press statements. It would be impossible and impractical for the Chairperson to consult every Member before speaking to the media; the views of the Chairperson were those of the Committee as a whole.

Mr Mavunda agreed with Mr Esterhuizen. If a Member was not pleased any media statement sent out from the Committee, the Committee could discuss the matter. The Chairperson represented the Committee as a whole in all media statements. It would have been useful if Mr Van Dalen had indicated the exact media statement that he had a problem with so it could be discussed.

Mr Van Dalen said any Member of Parliament could approach the Press Ombudsman to lay a complaint on any journalist who put out misconstrued information to the public. If the member of the media was found guilty he or she could be asked by the Ombudsman to withdraw the statements made and to apologise.

The Chairperson acknowledged Ms Mahambehlala’s concerns and said they would be looked into. He responded to Mr Van Dalen and said it would have been helpful if the statements that the Member did not agree to were brought before the Committee for discussion.

The meeting was adjourned.