Western Cape Provincial School Education Amendment Bill: public hearings planning

Meeting report

Chairperson’s opening remarks

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting and said the Committee would conclude its discussions on the schedule for the public hearings on the Western Cape Provincial School Education Amendment Bill [B1-2018]. The Committee last week had a briefing on the estimated costing of the Bill, and the legal advisor had provided guidance. There was concurrence from Members on the content and geographical spread of those areas to be visited for the public hearings. The Committee had resolved to hold six public hearings.

Schedule for public hearings

Mr T Olivier (ANC) expressed concern that the Committee would have only six public hearings, as the Committee should have aimed to have a far greater reach. The report should note his objection to the fact that there would be only six public hearings. There was certainly no justification for this, as the issue of transport could be dealt with by having hearings in places closer to one another. There was also a day where a public hearing was scheduled on the constituency day of 18 June 2018. His suggestion was to have a public hearing on the following day so that Members could be in their constituencies. 
           
The Chairperson noted the input that had been made by Mr Olivier, and mentioned that his inputs had been recorded in the minutes of the last engagement on the public hearings. The Committee could reschedule the public hearing that fell on the constituency day, for the following day.

Mr F Christians (ACDP) said that the priority should be to cover all areas with the public hearings. The Committee did not want to exclude anyone from attending the hearings, and accommodation should be being made for cases where there was an overflow of people. Mondays were indeed scheduled for constituency days, and this should be taken into consideration in the scheduling of public hearings. He was still not sure whether he was going to be able to attend to all the hearings because of his commitment to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA).

The Chairperson assured Members that the no one would be excluded from attending public hearings, as the intention was to get as many people as possible to attend them.

Mr Olivier asked about travelling arrangements for Members, as he could move straight from his constituency to where the public hearings would be held without the need for transport.

The Chairperson responded that the Committee would look into ways to help Members with travelling arrangements.

Mr Christians requested that Members be provided with a full programme of the public hearings and dates, and Members could then choose their own travelling preference in writing.
           
The Chairperson agreed with the suggestion.

The report on the schedule of the public hearings was adopted with amendments.

The meeting was adjourned.