National Public Health Institute of South Africa Bill: adoption

Meeting report

Opening remarks
The Chairperson welcomed Committee Members and all those in attendance.

The Chairperson said that the meeting was a continuation of the meeting held on the 23 May 2018, which had dealt with the amendment of the National Public Health Institute of South Africa (NAPHISA) Bill. The Committee would address the amendments and the go through the Bill clause-by-clause to adopt the Bill.

Clause 1
“Minister of Health” was replaced with “Cabinet member responsible for health” on Page 2, in line 5.

Clause 2
“and” was omitted on page 3, line 24
“.” was replaced by “; and“ on page 3, line 25.
On page 3, after line 25, the following paragraph was added:“(f) Environmental Health”

Clause 5
Clause 5 was rejected.
A new clause replaced clause 5. The new clause dealt with the Composition of the Board. According to the new clause, the Board consisted of the following Members, appointed by the Minister, taking into account, amongst other things, the appropriate representation of race, gender and disability. Among other things, the new clause stated that the appointment had to include two Members, each with a special knowledge in one of the following areas:
(i)      economics, financial matters or accounting; and
(ii)     legal matters.

Clause 8
Clause 8 was rejected and the following added as a new clause:
“Disqualification from Membership of the Board, vacation of office by a member, removal of member from Board and dissolution of Board”

Clause 8(1b), which reads “is not fit and proper”, was inserted.
Clause 8(di), which reads, “of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment without the option of a fine”, was inserted.

The parliamentary Legal Adviser. Ms Sueanne Isaacs, apologised for not inserting 8(h) in the amended Bill during the last meeting. The inclusion of 8(h) followed the recommendation of the Portfolio Committee Members to exclude politicians from the Board.

Clause 8(h) stated that “a person is excluded from the Board if he/she is a member of the National Assembly, permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), member of a Provincial legislature or member of a municipal council.”

Ms C Ndaba (ANC) commended the inclusion of Clause 8(h).

Mr A Shaik Emam (NFP) suggested that public representatives should replace community members

The Legal Adviser said it was better to maintain the phrase “community members”. The Portfolio Committee had to be specific in the use of terms.

Ms Ndaba concurred with the Ms Isaacs. The Portfolio Committee needed to be specific so that people did not take advantage of loopholes in the clause.

Clause 11
Clause 11 was rejected, and the following included as a new clause:
“Appointment, performance agreement and removal of Chief Executive Officer (CEO)”
Amendment 11(4) had been inserted based on the recommendations of the Portfolio Committee in the previous meeting. Clause 11(4) stated that “the Board must, after consultation with the Minister, annually enter into a written performance agreement between the CEO and the Board.

Clause 12
On page 8, in line 13, to omit “and”.
On page 8, in line 16, to omit “.” and to replace with “; and “.
On page 8, after line 16, to add the following paragraph:
“(d)   subject to Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), must cause the necessary accounting and other records to be kept.”

Clause 13 (a new clause)
The following should be a new clause:
“Annual report”
13.      Subject to PFMA-
(a)    the CEO must, in consultation with the Board, prepare and submit an annual report, financial statements, and the report of auditors on those statements to the Minister; and
(b)    the Minister must table the annual report and statements referred to in paragraph (a) in Parliament within one month of receipt thereof.”

An official of the National Department of Health (NDOH) sought clarity on the submission of the annual report. Would the report be submitted every year?

The Legal Advisor confirmed that the report will be submitted every year.

Ms Ndaba concurred with the Legal Advisor. The performance had to be evaluated and the report should be given to the Portfolio Committee every year.

Preamble
1.       On page 2, in the fifth line, after “health,” insert “cancer,”.
2.       On page 2, in the fifth line, after “violence,” insert “environmental health,”.
3.       On page 2, in the twenty-fourth line, after “health,” insert “environmental health,”
 
Clause-by-Clause Adoption of Bill

The Bill provided for the establishment of the National Association of Public Health Institute of South Africa to coordinate, and, where appropriate, to conduct, disease and injury surveillance; to provide for specialised public health services, public health interventions, training and research directed towards the major health challenges affecting the population of the Republic; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

The Portfolio Committee had considered numerous written and oral submissions from various stakeholders. Subsequently, public hearings were held on the 15 and 17 August 2017. The Committee had received inputs on the Bill from the National Department of Health on 21 June 2017, 27 August 2017 and 5 February 2018. The Portfolio Committee had deliberated on the Bill on 2 and 23 May 2018. Following extensive Committee deliberations, public submission and inputs from NDOH, the Committee had agreed to the Bill, with amendments.

Clause 1
Clause 1 dealt with the definition. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 2
It dealt with the establishment of NAPHISA. Committee Members agreed to the cause.
 
Clause 3
It dealt with functions of NAPHISA. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 4
The clause dealt with governance and control of NAPHISA. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 5
It dealt with the composition of the Board. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 6
It dealt with the appointment of Members of Board. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 7
It dealt with Chairperson and vice-chairperson of Board. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 8
It dealt with disqualification from Membership of the Board, vacation of office by a member, removal of a member from Board and dissolution of the Board. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 9
It dealt with meetings of the Board. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 10
It dealt with Committees of the Board. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 11
It dealt with appointment, performance agreement and removal of the Chief Executive Officer. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 12
It dealt with the functions of the CEO. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 13
It dealt with an annual report. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 14
It dealt with the transfer or secondment of certain persons to or from the employ of NAPHISA. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 15
It dealt with intellectual property rights. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 16
It dealt with finances of NAPHISA. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 17
It dealt with the delegation of functions. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 18
It dealt with the limitation of liability. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 19
It dealt with regulations. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 20
It dealt with the transfer of certain properties belonging to the State to NAPHISA. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 21
It dealt with the transfer of employees, assets and liabilities from the National Health Laboratory Service to NAPHISA. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Clause 22
It dealt with short title and commencement. Committee Members agreed to the clause.

Adoption of Bill and report
Mr Shaik Emam moved for the adoption of the NAPHISA Bill. The move was seconded by Ms Ndaba.

Mr Maesela moved for adoption of the report on the NAPHISA Bill. Ms Adams seconded the move.

The Chairperson commended Members of the Portfolio Committee for their effectiveness despite numerous challenges. The Portfolio Committee had to ensure that the Department adhered to the contents of the Bill. The Committee would have achieved its mandate by the end of its term.
 
Adoption of Committee Minutes

17 April 2018

Mr Shaik Emam raised an objection to the third bullet under ‘Issues raised by the Committee’ on page 3 of the minutes. The report should be specific in terms of what was streamlined.

The Chairperson noted that the bullet only focused on what the Auditor-General had said. The sentence should be rephrased to reflect the concerns of the Committee.

Mr Shaik Emam corrected the grammatical error on the first bullet under ‘Issues raised by the Committee’ on page 4. “clarity” should be substituted with “sought clarity”.

Mr Maesela moved for the adoption of the minutes with the corrections effected. Mr Maphanga seconded the move.

19 April 2018

Mr Mahlalela noted that the Committee had promised to invite Clinical Associates (CA). The Committee would later invite the Department and table the matter before the Department as presented by the CA.

Ms Vuyokazi Majalamba, Committee Secretary, said that the CA had made a presentation at the last meeting. However, the Committee had decided not to interact with CA because the matter was new to the Committee.

Ms Ndaba concurred with the Committee. The Committee had decided not to engage with the CA but promised to interact with the Department in terms of the grievances of the CA.

The Chairperson said the Committee had decided not to interact with CA because it had not provided the Committee with copies of its reports, amongst other things.

Mr Maesela sought clarity on the status of CA. He said the CA were employees of the State, just like doctors, nurses and pharmacists. He cautioned the Committee to avoid direct interaction with CA. The Committee should rather interact with the Department which, in turn, should interact with CA.

The Chairperson noted that direct interaction with CA could lead to an unsustainable precedence. The Committee would interact directly with the Department on the grievances of CA. The Department would have to clarify and address the gaps.

Mr Mahlalela cautioned that the matter should be carefully handled to avoid problems. He noted that a good number of nurses, doctors and pharmacists also remained unemployed.

Ms Ndaba said there had to be a way to get feedback from the Department regarding the matter.

Ms Ndaba moved for the adoption of the minutes. Mr Nkonzo seconded the move.

25 April 2018

The minutes were adopted, with no amendments. Mr Maphanga moved for the adoption of the minutes. Ms Adam seconded the move.

2 May 2018

Mr Maesela thought that the phrase “look into” under the second heading, ‘Resolutions by the Committee’, sounded like a direct translation from another language. He sought clarity on the grammatical correctness of the phrase.

The Chairperson told Mr Mahlalela there was nothing wrong with the phrase “look into”.

Mr Shaik Emam pointed to likely errors on page 3 of the minutes. Other Members of the Committee satisfactorily answered his concerns.

Mr Shaik Emam moved for the adoption of the minutes. The move was seconded by Mr Maesela.

9 May 2018

Mr Shaik Emam pointed out that his name did not appear on the attendance register.

The Chairperson enquired whether he had actually attended the meeting.

The minutes were adopted with no amendments. Mr Maesela moved for the adoption. The move was seconded by Ms Adams.

23 May 2018

The minutes were adopted with no amendments. Mr Nkonzo moved for the adoption. Mr Shaik Emam seconded the move.
 
The meeting was adjourned.