Marine Pollution (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) A/B; DoT Q1 2022/23 Performance; Railway Safety Bill: deliberations & other matters

Meeting report

Opening remarks

The Chairperson, Mr M Zwane (ANC), was absent. Mr L Mangcu (ANC) was elected as Acting Chairperson.

Mr C Hunsinger (DA) said that there was a situation where some of the entities had not submitted their 2021/22 financial annual reports. One of these entities was the Road Accident Fund (RAF), which had been assisted through two communications by the Minister on 4 November 2021 and 31 March 2022, to explain why its annual financial statements had not been submitted. The first reason was that the Auditor-General (AG) had not submitted them; secondly, there was a pending court case. Subsequent to that, in June 2022, there was an engagement with Parliament's Constitutional Legal Services and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), where the sub judice rule and the reasons why RAF had not submitted their financial statements were considered. During the meeting with SCOPA, there had been a particular finding that it was not applicable to use the sub judice rule, and it should not be used to frustrate the oversight process of Parliament. He asked for an update on this.

There had also been an engagement around the sad incident of the aircraft crash in George, and the report had been tabled with the Committee in March. Subsequent to the investigation, there was mention of an appeal process, which had hindered the final report from being tabled and presented. In the meantime, the Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau had responded to what was offered to the Committee as an appeals process by saying that there was no such thing as an appeals process, and that the finding stood. The content of the report that was presented was confirmed and no new evidence was added. This was stated as the reason why a review was not considered. There had been a request to ask the former investigating chief to appear before the Committee to assist with any questions.

The Acting Chairperson said that towards the end of the meeting, this would be discussed together with the Committee Secretary, Ms Valerie Carelse, and the Content Advisor, Adv Alma Nel.

The Members agreed.

Mr K Sithole (IFP) asked about the formalisation of the taxi industry.

Marine Pollution (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment Bill [B5-2022]

Mr Mathabatha Mokonyama, Acting Director-General, Department of Transport (DOT), introduced the presentation to the Committee.

Ms Tsepiso Taoana-Mashiloane, Chief Director: Implementation, Maritime Safety, Security and Environment, DOT, took the Committee through the purpose, background, objectives of the Bill and the benefits of the incorporation of MARPOL annex iv and vi. The objectives of the Bill were to incorporate MARPOL annex iv (which regulates the activities for treatment and safe disposal of sewage from ships) and MARPOL annex vi (the main global instrument that addresses ship energy efficiency management and greenhouse gas emissions).

The restriction of discharging of sewage would reduce the nutrient loads caused by sewage discharge from passenger ships into the sea. Another benefit included the prevention, reduction and control of marine pollution from the air, or indirectly through the air; and to preserve the maritime environment, through the complete elimination of pollution by oil and other harmful substances, as well as minimising the accidental discharge of such substances. Ships would be required to use fuel with no more than 0.50% sulphur content, or use approved fuel treatment systems called scrubbers.

Mr Dumisani Theophelus Ntuli, Chief Director: Maritime Transport Policy and Legislation, DOT, took the Committee through the proposed amendments, consultation and recommendations.

Clause 1

The inclusion of annexes iv and vi in the definition of Convention was recommended. If this were done, it would mean that the treaty in its entirety was inclusive of all the annexes.

Clause 2

There was an absence of the Convention in South African law, so it was recommended that it be incorporated to enable there to be force of law in South Africa. By enacting domestic legislation, South Africa would be in a position to give full effect to the treaties. There was also the absence of technical standards. This would enable the authority to enforce compliance with technical standards published in the manner as provided for in the Act.

Clause 3

There was an absence of regulations for annexes iv and vi. Regulations would give clear guidance on how to implement the principal Act.

Clause 4

Internally, the price for a fine had increased. It should state that any person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable to a fine not exceeding R10 million or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or to such fine as well as such imprisonment.

Clause 5

There was an absence of the Advisory Committee to ensure the implementation of the Convention.

The Minister should be able to ensure the implementation of the Convention through cooperation with other parties to the Convention. In the schedule of the current Act, there was an absence of annex iv and vi, which must be part of the Act. There had been consultation with many other organisations, such as the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the Ports Regulator of South Africa.

It was recommended that the Committee approve that the Bill be presented before Parliament.

(See the presentation for further details)

Discussion

Mr Hunsinger asked for clarity on the other annexes that were not mentioned. Were they not part of this? What did the audit entail? How would non-compliance in a worst-case scenario affect such a compliance assessment?

Mr L McDonald (ANC) asked how many fines had been issued under the current legislation. There seemed to be many laws but a lack of implementation.

Mr Sithole asked for an update on the other annexes. Why had the DOT not provided the Committee with the full Act to see how it could be amended? What about the compliance of other countries?

Ms N Nolutshungu (EFF) asked what had been done to ensure the implementation of the Convention. It was recommended that there should be an Advisory Committee. Why had it taken this long to identify the gaps?

Mr P Mey (FF+) said he was aware that only ships carrying oil in bulk had to be insured, but if it was less than 2 000 tons, this was not necessary. In such a case, who was responsible for the damage?

DOT's response

Mr Ntuli said that the current Act did include the other annexes that the DOT had not referred to. There were only six. The audit had been delayed until 2021 due to COVID-19. The compliance of parties to the treaties involved those duties that were mandatory in nature. The annexes, in this case, were mandatory. Parties to the Convention must have legislation that gave effect to the annexes and must have the necessary resources to do so. Non-compliance would mean that South Africa was not helping the global community to promote and implement measures to improve maritime pollution prevention. Not giving full effect to annexes would make South Africa seem bad in international systems.

South Africa issues fines -- in the last month, there had been fines of R1.4 million issued for various cases. A study was conducted to determine how many states were parties to MARPOL, and in terms of fines. South Africa was imposing them for less than other states. It was only in 2017 that a maritime policy was adopted. South Africa now had a policy that articulated all the issues that had been identified. Full effect had now been given to the policy. The Convention covered ships that trade on global oceans. There would be special dispensations for those that trade on domestic oceans. The carriers thereof had to pay for the damage.

Mr Mokonyama said that without complying with the Convention. it would be difficult to operate in this space. The full Act would be made available to the Committee.

Ms Carelse said the Committee had to consider the motion of desirability (next week) and extend invitations for public hearings on the Bill.

Mr Hunsinger said that the Bill should be fast-tracked. The motion of desirability could be adopted now to save a week. It was important to comply with international standards. This Bill could be finalised soon.

Mr McDonald agreed that the time left should be used to deal with the motion of desirability on this Bill.

Ms Carelse submitted the motion of desirability of the Bill to the Acting Chairperson. It would be discussed towards the end of the meeting.

Department of Transport on first quarter performance 2022/23

Mr Bosa Ramantsi, Chief Director: Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Mr Makoto Matlala, Chief Financial Officer, took the Committee through the first quarter expenditure for the 2022/23 financial year.

The DOT performance level for their programmes was 83% for the first quarter. The DOT guided the Members through each programme.

Programme 1: Administration

The performance level was 100%. Twenty-one vacant positions were filled in the quarter under review. The vacancy rate decreased by 1.5%, from 24.7% in March to 23.2% in June. The vacancy rate included 114 unfunded positions in the establishment. The DOT would need to deactivate 57 employees trained, translating to 8.6% of the establishment. 172 bursaries were currently being managed internally.

Programme 2: Integrated Transport Planning

A literature review on the legislative gaps in autonomous vehicle technology has been reviewed. Stakeholder consultations on the Regional Integration Strategy were conducted with the South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL), the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA), the DOT branches, the Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS), and the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR).

During the review period, stakeholder consultations (freight logistics) were conducted and the following issues were discussed:

• commodities and tonnages to migrate to rail;
• "low hanging fruits' based on industry willingness and readiness to migrate to rail; and
• ongoing consultation with Transnet on the availability of rail capacity for these commodities.

Programme 3: Rail Transport

The annual analysis report (2021/22) on the rolling stock fleet renewal programme was finalised, where 39 new trains were provisionally accepted, 89 trains produced since inception of the programme, 14 new trains provisionally accepted, and 103 new trains produced in the first quarter. There were 875 approved capital projects for the 2021/22 financial year, which were at different stages of implementation. However, there had been limited progress with the implementation of the capital programme, as the data showed that the majority of the projects were stuck in the initiation, concept and procurement phases.

Programme 4: Road Transport

3 142 fatalities were recorded in the first quarter, representing a 3.2% reduction compared to the same period in the previous financial year.

Programme 5: Civil Aviation

A quarterly analysis report on aviation incidents and accidents was developed. The report indicated that a total of five cumulative deaths were recorded from 1 April to 30 June 2022, representing a decrease of five fatalities compared with the same period in the 2021/22 financial year.

Programme 6: Maritime Transport

The Maritime Development Fund Bill had been signed by the Minister for Cabinet to approve the publication of the Bill for public comments. The Oceans Economy Master Plan was not yet finalised, but the draft report had been developed. Stakeholder consultations were not conducted on the concept model for establishing a national shipping company.

Programme 7: Public Transport

Quarterly bilateral meetings were held with the municipalities of Mangaung, Rustenburg, eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay and Cape Town. The final guideline on the Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN) specifications, technical norms, and standards had been presented to the South African Transport Conference (SATC) for further input. For the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP), a quarterly progress report on the old taxi vehicles (OTVs) scrapped was developed. A total of 519 (OTVs) were scrapped during the period under review. The target was demand-driven and dependent on the industry's uptake. The DOT was looking to remove the "cut-off" date, and would continue to explore measures to improve the uptake for scrapping.

The Department had spent R15.658 billion to date, or 23% of the total current budget of R69.138 billion, against the benchmark expenditure drawing target of R15.708 billion, indicating an underspending of R50 million. It had under-spent on the compensation of employees and goods and services, due to a number of projects that had yet to commence. It also under-spent on transfers and subsidies due to the taxi recapitalisation programme, the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) for operations, and bursaries to non-employees, but it had overspent on the transfers to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), international organisations, non-profit institutions and social contributions, due to an earlier than anticipated expenditure on transfers. The overspending on the transfer payment to the RTMC was due to an earlier than anticipated transfer due to the cash flow challenges faced by the Corporation. It had under-spent on the transfer payment to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) for operations, as an invoice had not yet been received from the entity.

The national department's financial year ended in March each year and began in April, while the municipal financial year ended in June and began in July each year, hence no transfers had been made to date of reporting.

(See presentation for further details)

Discussion

Mr M Chabangu (EFF) asked why no trains had been bought in the first quarter. There was a case open in Bloemfontein -- why was it moving at such a slow pace?

Ms Nolutshungu said that 875 capital projects for the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (PRASA) had been approved, but there had been limited progress in implementing these projects. It had been said that the majority were stuck in initiation, concept and procurement. What was the main cause for the slow progress? How could the Committee assist? In terms of its rail safety strategy, how was the DOT doing compared to last year, with COVID-19, and now?

There had been a failure to monitor the integrated ticketing system. Which cities had implemented the system? Which modes were involved? It had been mentioned that Rustenburg would pilot the system in August -- had this been done? If so, which modes were involved? The Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN) taxis would be removed completely. The City of Cape Town was already struggling to do so. How was the DOT going to ensure that these taxis were completely removed? There had been discussions on the progress of implementing the Rustenburg Rapid Transport. How far were these engagements? There was an underspending of R50 million on the compensation of employees and goods and services due to a number of projects that had yet to commence, and on transfers and subsidies due to the taxi recapitalisation programme. What measures were being taken to ensure this was not always the case? Funds should also be used to include people with disabilities. They were highly disadvantaged.

Mr Sithole said it seems like the DOT had just copied their expenditure from the previous year. When oversight was done in Rustenburg, the IPTN seemed dysfunctional. What mechanisms were there to ensure that issues were monitored? Regarding the vacancy rate, it had been mentioned that there were 114 unfunded positions. What did this mean? What systems were in place to deal with the potholes per province? Why were only three of the five maritime transportation programmes achieved?  

Mr McDonald said that the DOT's performance targets should be more aligned with service delivery. The report showed 100% for rail transport, but then further in the report, it said there had been limited progress on the capital programme. They stated that they had not completed all the work, but there was a 100% performance level. The central line in Bonteheuwel had been taken over by thugs and a station that belonged to PRASA, and nothing was being done. Taxi recapitalisation had to be finalised, because it had been initiated to remove illegal converted Quantum taxis from the market. They needed to be off the road for safety. There could not be more deaths on the road.

Mr I Seitlholo (DA) said he was interested in Rustenburg and Mangaung. There were allegations of corruption, and forensic audits had commenced. What happened to these reports when they were finalised? What were the consequences? What was the oversight of this Committee in respect of the reports? What were the plans of the DOT? There were funds from the DOT and municipalities involved, but currently, the Committee had nothing to show for it.

Mr Hunsinger asked for clarity regarding the reference to trains. It was confusing. Were these concept train sets? There should be a standardised form of expression and protocols in the report. The DOT had overspent on the transfer payment to the Road Traffic Management Corporation due to an earlier than anticipated transfer due to cash flow challenges. He asked for details of these cash flow challenges. There was overspending on machinery and equipment due to earlier than anticipated deliveries on orders. How did this work in supply chain management (SCM), where an order was made to be delivered at a certain time but arrives earlier than anticipated and people demand payment?

Mr Mey said that the other Members had covered him, but added that the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) had been doing outstanding work.

The Chairperson asked the CFO for clarity on the money used to fix the potholes. Was the Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant (PRMG) being used? The programme to fix the potholes was launched in a municipal area -- how was the money of the PRMG treated?

DOT's response

Mr Mokonyama said the ticketing system had been implemented by Rustenburg. It had been dealing with the challenges, and a forensic investigation had started and was still ongoing. The results should be available in the next two to three months. An investigation was also ongoing in Mangaung, and the result would be available before Rustenburg. The DOT would inspect what went wrong and adopt corrective measures. The report would be made available to the public. There had been assistance from the National Treasury. So far, no cities have implemented the system.

Taxi recapitalisation has always been a challenge. For example, the amount paid for scrapping was inadequate to deal with a deposit for a new vehicle. These people were unable to get new vehicles. There needed to be a proclamation for a cut-off date for all old vehicles to come in for scrap. This would force people to come. He added that there was a cut-off date for vehicles to come for scrapping, whether with or without a permit. If there was no permit, this should be dealt with. There were about 200 Quantum taxis that the DOT was looking at.

Pietermaritzburg was one of the cities that had been removed from the IPTN programme. It had been arranged that these cities be assisted with historical debt and contractual obligations.

It might seem as if there had been no movements on vacancies, but there had been internal movements such as promotions. The DOT took notice of all the issues regarding budgets and aircraft, which would be dealt with. Now that the COVID-19 restrictions had been relaxed, the DOT hoped to perform better in the second quarter. There were indeed issues with enforcement and operating licences, but these would be dealt with. If and when the Committee did oversight and saw issues with which they could assist the DOT, they were welcome to do so.

Mr Chris Hlabisa, Deputy Director-General: Road Transport, said a programme was launched to fix potholes in August. There was a grant that would assist, and each municipality would have to ensure that the potholes were fixed in their district. The programme had been rolled out and started in Gauteng, and in the next two weeks, there would be a visit to the Free State and Limpopo. This programme was important for the construction sector, and the intention was to reach all nine provinces within six months. The process would be fast-tracked. SANRAL had been identified as one of the government entities that aimed to strengthen road networks in South Africa. A resolution was taken at the presidential retreat over a three-day period, where it was decided that SANRAL would help the whole country. There had been engagements with municipalities, so it was very integrated. Training would be provided for municipalities to ensure that they fixed their own networks.

Mr Godfrey Maluleke, Chief Director: Rail Operations and Oversight, said 103 new trains had been delivered that had not been deployed yet. This was because the capital programme was running behind. During lockdown, there was a situation where the infrastructure was not guarded, and vandalism occurred. However, there were now new contractors to upgrade the railway infrastructure and fix equipment. New improvements would be made. There had been challenges where locals had demanded a 30%share of the contracts. Armed guards have been appointed to ensure the work is carried out. Most of the issues had been resolved. There were still serious issues, such as the Cape Town area's central lines, that imposed serious challenges that had not yet been resolved. There was no need for assistance from the Committee at the moment, because the law enforcement agencies were working well with PRASA to ensure that work was not being interrupted.

The comments by the Members had been noted, and the Department would improve by clarifying the train sets -- when they were manufactured and delivered.

Ms Taoana-Mashiloane said that not all targets had been met, as stated by Mr Sithole. This was because there were problems with the way the indicators were formulated. The stakeholders should have been told specifically, but this was not done when there was a meeting. The Department of Health and the Department of Home Affairs were not at this meeting. Consultations were ongoing at that time, but they could not be completed. At the next meeting, there would be an attempt to fix this.

Regarding the formalisation of agencies, there were engagements to ensure that technical issues were being dealt with. The DOT was behind due to late engagements in the consultative process to Cabinet. However, this had been finalised. The Minister had signed the submission, which would be sent to Cabinet. These were why only three of the five programme targets had been achieved. The finalisation of this Bill was important because it was currently impeding the DOT's progress on enforcement and oversight. It hoped to improve in the next quarterly report.

Mr Matlala said that machinery and equipment, such as computers, took 90 days to be delivered during COVID-19. Currently, it took only 30 days, and these invoices had to be settled. They were usually imported from abroad. Provinces and municipalities were unable to settle their debts, and therefore cash flow challenges were experienced. The DOT had sent the municipalities their funds/allocations earlier to settle these debts.

Referring to the fixing of potholes, he said SANRAL had the technical expertise to fix them, whereas the PRMG provided the funds.

Deliberations: Railway Safety Bill [B7-2021]

Adv Nel proposed locations based on statistics collected from the Railway Safety Regulator's 2020/21 state of safety report. Where Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were the provinces with the highest volumes of traffic, they were also the main contributors to rail incidents in various formats. Gauteng had the most collisions and derailments, while the North West, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal had the most level crossing accidents. The number of people struck by trains was high in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. She created a table depicting the province, the city/municipality, the site, and the incident/areas of interest.

The Chairperson said that three sites should be visited for each province.

In Limpopo, Beitbridge, Polokwane and Louis Trichardt would be visited.  

In Mpumalanga, Witbank, Komatipoort and Impala Hectorspruit would be visited.

In the North West, only two places would be visited, Rustenburg and Potchefstroom.

In Gauteng, Park Station, Tshwane Central Station and Germiston would be visited.

In the Free State, Thaba Nchu, Bothaville and Welkom would be visited.

In KwaZulu- Natal, Durban Central, Richards Bay and Pietermaritzburg would be visited.

In the Northern Cape, De Aar and Upington would be visited.

In the Eastern Cape, East London, Gqeberha, and Adelaide would be visited.

In the Western Cape, it was suggested that Khayelitsha, Beaufort West and Saldanha be visited.

The Members all agreed to this.

Adv Nel said that the dates would have to be finalised.

Audit of the Road Accident Fund

A letter from the Auditor-General (AG) had been received. The RAF wanted to suspend the pending outcome of the RAF judicial review of the AGSA's disclaimer of opinion issued concerning its 2020/21 financials, and the pending appeal on the interim interdict which was currently before the Supreme Court of Appeal. The reason was that there was a material difference of opinion on the accounting for the provision of the outstanding liability claims, and that there was no signed engagement letter and approved audit strategy for the 2021/22 financial year. The AG stated that the finalisation of the 2020/21 audit could not be delayed, as such litigation matters could take years to finalise. There was no legal basis to delay the audit. Delaying the audit would not enable effective oversight of the RAF.

The Chairperson asked Adv Nel what the Committee could and should do.

Adv Nel said that the AG had highlighted its outcome for the RAF annual report at the beginning of the year. It was not a final published report, but they had their view based on calculations and how the RAF was seen. The RAF wanted to be seen as a social system, rather than an insurer. They were now in a mediation phase with the National Treasury. If entities did not submit their financials and the AG submitted their findings to the Committee in any event, the situation would be repeated.

Ms Carelse said that before annual reports were tabled, there was normally a one-on-one meeting with the Chairperson and the AG's office. This had been scheduled for 12 September, but was postponed because although the AG had signed off on most of the national audits by 31 July, there were still a few outstanding audits, which included the RAF and PRASA. This was what had been indicated a week earlier.

Adv Nel said that had happened last year with the RTMC, when the AG had still given their findings, whether it was a qualified or unqualified disclaimer, it seemed like it would happen here as well. The Committee could state that the audit report had not been submitted, but if it was tabled late, it would be fine. The only difference would be that the Committee would not have the time to do a supplementary review in detail. This could be included in the Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR), and state only what was presented to the Committee accordingly. The Committee could request the AG to provide the documents on which they had relied, since there was no audit report. The Committee was also allowed to seek a legal opinion, if that was what it wanted.

Mr Sithole suggested that the RAF present to the Committee. It could not be soft with entities that caused challenges. He suggested a meeting with RAF and AGSA to determine their argument, if it was legal to do so.

Mr McDonald said the Committee was between a rock and a hard place. It was almost like two children fighting about who was right or wrong. He agreed with Mr Sithole's suggestion. The AGSA should explain why they wanted to do things their way. After that, the RAF must also explain. Reports were needed to do oversight.

Mr Hunsinger said it would be valuable for the Committee to get the AGSA's perspective on the actual reasons for not submitting the annual statements and report. This would allow the Committee to be in a better position to decide how to engage with the financials of the RAF.

The Chairperson said there was consensus that there should be a meeting with AGSA, but the Committee would still decide on the RAF. This was a work in progress. He would engage with AGSA and then the Committee. After this, the Committee would decide on the steps forward.

Aircraft crash report

The Chairperson said that there was a report and an appeals process that had been rejected by another Ethiopian authority. The Committee needed to resolve what to do. There was now an appeal, but it had been found that there may be a different view that could not be appealed. A former employee was willing to address the Committee, based on his knowledge. He asked Ms Carelse and Adv Nel what options they had.

Ms Carelse asked for clarity on whether the issue of the appeal had been submitted to the Chairperson.

Mr Hunsinger said that when they were dealing with the report which was tabled with the Committee on 8 March, the Minister had announced that the report must be noted because it would be subjected to a review. The Committee did not process the report because the Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was going to contest the contents of the report. The report at the time could not be finalised because the Committee had accepted what the Minister had offered as an intentional process of appeal. Since then, it had been reviewed, and the Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau had said that there was no such thing as an appeal. The report, as tabled, should be considered a final report, since no new/additional information had been submitted that would alter the report's content. Therefore, it was valuable for the Committee to reconsider the original report as the final one, and take it from where it had left off in March. Valuable insight from the former Chief of Investigation had also not been considered.

The Acting Chairperson said that there was no clear answer as to whether the Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau had submitted a report to the Chairperson.

Ms Carelse said that the report had not been formally tabled, but if the Committee wanted to have a follow-up meeting with the Minister, they were welcome to do so.

The Acting Chairperson asked whether it would be possible to demand the report.

Ms Carelse responded that she would investigate this.

Mr McDonald said that the report should be submitted officially to the Committee. It would allow the Committee to see that the report had been done properly, and assist in preventing such incidents from occurring in the future.

Desirability of Marine Pollution (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment Bill

It was the opinion of the Committee that it was desirable to amend the Marine Pollution (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act, 1986, to give effect to Annex iv of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. It was also desirable to incorporate the 1997 Protocol to give effect to Annex vi of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. It was desirable to provide for matters connected therewith, and that the Bill referred to the Committee be taken as a basis.

The Members of the Committee agreed to the motion of desirability on the Bill and the publication thereof.

Consideration and adoption of minutes

The minutes of the Committee's meeting on 30 August were adopted.

The meeting was adjourned.