Budget Vote: briefing by Department

Home Affairs

11 March 2003
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Meeting report

HOME AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
11 March 2003
BUDGET VOTE: BRIEFING BY DEPARTMENT

Acting Chairperson:
Ms M Maunye (ANC)

Document handed out:
None

SUMMARY
Since the Department was judged inadequately prepared, the Committee agreed to postpone the briefing on the budget vote to 18 March 2003. The Committee agreed that Adv Lambinon had to be present at the meeting on the 18 March 2003 so that his letter to the Committee could be discussed.

MINUTES
Letter from Acting Director General
A letter from Adv I Lambinon, Acting Director General, was distributed to Members of the Committee. The Acting Chair proposed that the Committee discuss the letter after the meeting.

Ms A van Wyk (UDM) supported a discussion on the letter. The Committee could not ignore the letter since it indicates serious corruption of a financial nature. The Department should say what the impact of this was. Adv Lambinon did not wish to discuss these matters in front of the press.

Briefing on budget vote
Mr K Morwamoche (ANC) stated that Committee members should have received copies of the briefing document prior to the meeting.

Mr Du Plessis, Acting Director General, apologised for the lateness of the document. He had only received the request for it the previous day and the document had only been finalised at 8pm.

The Acting Chair responded that a letter had been sent to the Department the previous Thursday, 6 March 2003, and a programme had been sent in February. The programme indicated that the budget vote would be discussed on 11 March 2003, so there had even been a delay of a week. It was thus unacceptable that the Department produced the document so late.

Mr Du Plessis explained that the letter had been received at the Director General's office on Friday, 7 March 2003, but that the Acting Director General had been in a management meeting at the time. Consequently he only found out about the letter over the weekend and the request was only passed to Mr Du Plessis at 10am on Monday, 10 March 2003. The mistake was entirely the Department's.

Mr H Chauke (ANC) said that every time the Committee met with the Department, there was an apology. The Department and the Committee needed to improve their relationship and co-ordination.

Postponement of the meeting
Ms Van Wyk asked whether the meeting could continue since the Committee had only received the information that day. The budget briefing is one of the most important meetings of the Committee. On a brief reading, there was nothing on whether the Department had achieved the measures it set out to achieve.

Mr I Pretorius (NNP) agreed that discussion could not be fruitful and suggested that a new date be set for the meeting.

Mr Chauke stated that, according to the programme, the Committee only had until the end of the next morning to interact with the Department. If they were to stick to this schedule, the Committee should give the Department until 4pm on 11 March 2003 to prepare properly. A meeting could then be held on the morning of 12 March 2003.

Mr G Grobler (DP) responded that this would be rushing matters. Would the following Tuesday, 18 March 2003, really be too late?

Mr Pretorius supported the suggestion of 18 March 2003 for the next meeting. The Department and Committee should communicate by telephone as well as by letter.

Mr Chauke agreed with the date of 18 March 2003. There should be someone in the Department that could liase with the Clerk.

Mr Du Plessis responded that Mr H Meyer, Deputy Director, would be made available as a liaison with the Clerk.

Prince N Zulu (IFP) asked if the Department could confirm that they were ill prepared.

Mr Du Plessis replied that while they were not as prepared as they would like to be they were not ill prepared.

The Committee agreed that the briefing be postponed to 18 March 2003 and that the briefing document be made available to the Clerk by 14 March 2003 for distribution to the Members on that day.

Letter from Adv Lambinon
Mr Chauke asked if the Committee should discuss the letter from Adv Lambinon with the Department officials.

Mr Du Plessis replied that the Department officials present were not conversant with the letter's contents. Adv Lambinon should speak on the letter.

Ms Van Wyk said it should be made clear that the Committee expected Adv Lambinon to be present at the meeting on 18 March 2003.

Mr Pretorius stated that Adv Lambinon could not refuse to discuss the matters in the letter with the press present. He asked that the Acting Chair take this up with Adv Lambinon.

Mr Chauke responded that this was not a duty to be shifted to the Acting Chair. The letter was before the Committee so Adv Lambinon should brief the Committee.

The Committee agreed that Adv Lambinon should be present at the next meeting and that the letter would be discussed in the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned.

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