Strategic Planning & Committee Programme: finalisation

Meeting report

PUBLIC SERVICES SELECT COMMITTEE
26 March 2002
STRATEGIC PLANNING & COMMITTEE PROGRAMME: FINALISATION

Chairperson: Ms P Majodina (ANC)[Eastern Cape]

Documents handed out:
Committee Programme

SUMMARY
The Committee considered and adopted the draft Committee Report, and proposed technical amendments to it.

MINUTES
The Chair welcomed Members and acknowledged the presence of the Parliamentary Monitoring Group. She commended it on its reports. She informed the Committee about the deployment of Monwabisi Nguqu, the Committee Clerk, to the Portfolio Committee on Transport, without the Committee being informed. She voiced her frustration on this and noted that the Committee Section had been requested to keep Monwabisi with the Committee for the sake of continuity. She saw this as a sign of undermining the Committees of the NCOP by the Committee Section and vow to take up the matter with the NCOP presiding officers.

The Committee concurred with the Chair and further noted that the Committee Section Manager, Mr R Yako, should be invited before the Committee.

Rev M Chabaku (ANC)[Free State] noted that the media have perpetuated this perception against the NCOP since their reports about Parliament would only cover the National Assembly and not the NCOP.

The Chair concurred with Rev Chabaku and further noted that the media refers to National Assembly as the MP's and to the NCOP Members as NCOP members and not MP's.

Draft Committee Programme
The Chair noted that the Committee should finalise the programme and also identify areas that should be given priority during the provincial visits.

Rev P Moatshe (ANC)[North-West] said that there is a tendency by Departments to submit their reports to the parliamentary Committees at the last minute. This needed to be addressed since such practice does not afford Members an opportunity to interact with the reports so that they could deliberate on them objectively.

The Chair acknowledged the concerned and further noted that it would be inappropriate for any parliamentary committee to approve a report without firstly having interrogated it so that they could be familiar with its content.

Mr M Sulliman (ANC)[Northern Cape] proposed that the Chair raise this concern with the NCOP presiding officers.

Mr V Windvoel (ANC)[Mpumalanga] noted that it would be important and useful if the Committee were to visit the Cape Town local traffic centres before the expiration of the deadline for conversion of ID to Card driver licenses.

The Chair said that the proposal would be looked at, taking into consideration the fact that in due course there would be Easter weekend, which would be followed by constituency week.

The Committee unanimously accepted the draft programme, with its amendments.

Ms B Thompson (ANC)[KZN] requested the Chair to obtain from the Department of Transport the report on the selection board that the Committee interviewed.

The Chair noted Ms Thompson's request. She asked Members to identify areas in their provinces which they think should be given priority when the Committee visits the provinces. She said that this should be done in collaboration with provincial standing committees since they are the ones who are responsible for oversight work in the provinces. She thanked the Members, parliamentary staff and the Parliamentary Monitoring Group for their attendance.

The meeting was adjourned.