Consideration of Traditional Affairs General Laws Amendment Bill; Makana oversight visit report; with Deputy Minister

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Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

25 October 2022
Chairperson: Mr F Xasa (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

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Tabled Committee Reports

The Committee adopted its motion of desirability on the Traditional Affair General Laws Amendment Bill – the Bill was deemed desirable. In going through the Bill, Members sought clarity about the provision for attendance and participation of traditional leaders in municipalities and how the Bill would impact the Municipal Systems Act.

The Committee considered and adopted its report on its visit to the Makana Municipality. Members asked whether the municipality provided the requested documents within the stipulated timeframe. Members wanted to know what progress had been made in holding a joint meeting with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) about the water treatment works and the quarterly reports from the law enforcement agencies to track progress. Members were concerned the section 139 interventions did not seem to yield the desired results.

Meeting report

The Chairperson officially welcomed all and opened the meeting. Apologies were acknowledged.

Traditional Affairs General Laws Amendment Bill

The Chairperson requested the Deputy Minister of Traditional Affairs, Ms Thembi Nkadimeng, to comment on the Bill.

Deputy Minister Nkadimeng indicated that there were no comments from her side, but she was in the meeting to support the DG and respond to any issues of concern.

The Secretary of the Portfolio Committee took the Committee through the Bill.

Mr K Ceza (EFF) sought clarity if the provision for attendance and participation of traditional leaders in municipalities was part of the technical amendments of the Bill. He further asked if the involvement of traditional leaders was left to the discretion of the municipalities.

Mr I Groenewald (FF+) indicated that the Bill seeks to change some of the articles within the Municipal Structures Act; he then asked if this has any effect on the new Municipal Systems Act that has not yet commenced. He added that the Committee must look at the regulations published for public comment and incorporate it into the Traditional Affairs General Laws Amendment Bill.

Mr Mashwahle Diphofa, Director-General, Department of Traditional Affairs (DTA), highlighted that the code of conduct which applies to members of municipal councils, which was contained in the Municipal Systems Act, has now been moved to the Municipal Structures Act. This applies to all those who participate in the council. Therefore, it will also apply to traditional leaders. Therefore reference to traditional leaders will be included in the amendment. However, the main issue in the Traditional Affairs General Laws Amendment Bill is to ensure there are correct references to the Municipal Structures Act. He said that Section 81 details and addresses the issue of participation.

Dr Rinaldi Bester, Legislation Specialist, DTA, responded that the Systems Act is not affected by the amendments to the Traditional Affairs General Laws A/B. The new Section 81 was introduced in the Municipal Structures Act by the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act. The code of conduct that was previously in the Municipal Systems Act was already removed and incorporated into the Municipal Structures Act through the 2021 Amendment Bill.

The Committee adopted its report on the motion of desirability on the Traditional Affairs General Laws Amendment Bill – the Bill was deemed desirable.  

Makana Oversight Visit Report

Ms E Spies (DA) asked for clarification on whether the Committee has received all the requested reports within the timeframe that the Makana Municipality was asked to provide.

She indicated that an engagement was supposed to be hosted with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) about the water treatment works. She asked for feedback about the progress on this matter.

Mr Ceza asked if Makana Municipality was under Section 139 (B) and what the status is, considering that reports are indicating that the Municipality is deteriorating, although there has been a provincial intervention. He expressed his concern that these interventions do not seem to yield the desired results.

He further asked if the Committee is not meant to receive a quarterly report from the law enforcement agencies to track the status including the progress, consequence management, and including the people accountable.

The Portfolio Committee Secretary highlighted that the Committee had not received any documentation from the Makana Municipality. However, some follow-ups have been initiated.

Regarding the meeting with SCOPA, the Secretary said that the Committee has been trying to confirm a date for a joint meeting. However, there has not been any feedback yet. The next step is to write to the Committee to send a written report about Makana.

The Chairperson said that in the last meeting with the law agencies, it was not the Portfolio Committee that recommended quarterly meetings. However, as the Committee proceeds with its work in terms of its resolution to focus on some specific municipalities, information should be collected with the intention that there will be engagement at some point.

The Chairperson concurred that the Portfolio Committee must insist on meeting deadlines for submitting reports.

The Deputy Minister indicated that she had seen the report which outlined the difficulty faced by the Makana Municipality. She added that before the 1 November 2022 deadline, more information will be provided on the status of the roads and if there was value for money and on all the issues raised by the Committee. She asked the Committee to conduct a follow-up visit to see the issue of water, and service delivery issues.

The report was adopted.  

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting.

 

 

 

 

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