Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill: Final Mandates (with Minister)

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed the special delegates from the provinces and reminded them of their voting rights if the permanent members were absent.

Final Mandates: Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill
Mr Kobus Jooste, Committee Content Advisor, was tasked to read the final mandates of the provinces into the record.

Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape Legislature voted in favour of the Bill on 22 March 2024 and mandated the Eastern Cape permanent delegate to the NCOP to do the same.

Free State
The Free State Legislature voted in favour of the Bill on 22 March 2024.

Gauteng
The Gauteng Legislature supported the bill in principle and detail and voted in favour of it on 22 March 2024.

At this point, the Chairperson noted Minister Gwede Mantashe on the platform and welcomed him to the meeting.

Ms M Mokause (EFF, Northern Cape) objected to the Chairperson disrupting the process in order to recognise the Minister.

Mr I Ntsube (ANC, Free State) rebuked Ms Mokause for interrupting the Chairperson.

Ms W Ngwenya (ANC, Gauteng) sought clarity on whether the Gauteng mandate had been done.

For clarity, the Content Advisor repeated the reading of the Gauteng mandate.

KwaZulu-Natal
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature met on 26 March 2024 and agreed to mandate the provincial delegation to the NCOP to support the Bill.

Limpopo
The Limpopo Legislature voted in favour of the Bill on 22 March 2024.

Mpumalanga
On 22 March 2024, the Mpumalanga Legislature conferred the delegation representing the province in the NCOP with the mandate to vote in favour of the Bill

Northern Cape
The Northern Cape Legislature voted in favour of the Bill on 20 March 2024.

North-West
The North-West Legislature voted in favour of the Bill on 26 March 2024.

Western Cape
The Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism considered the Bill on 22 March 2024. In accordance with Standing Rule 217, the Western Cape delegation in the NCOP was conferred the authority not to support the Bill.

The Bill was adopted without amendments.

Consideration of Committee Report
The Committee Secretary read the content of the Committee Report on the UPRD Bill into the record. The report was subsequently adopted without amendments.

Read: ATC240328: Report of the Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy on the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill [B13B-2021] (National Assembly – Section 76), dated28March 2024

The Chairperson granted Minister Mantashe the opportunity to make his closing remarks.

Ms Mokause called on the Chairperson to respect Members by following proper procedures and not allowing latecomers to interrupt the meeting.

The Chairperson replied that the Minister was not late but that she had failed to acknowledge his presence at the start of the meeting.

Mr J Nyambi (ANC, Mpumalanga) agreed with the Chairperson’s ruling and said she had done nothing wrong.

Minister Mantashe was grateful that the Chairperson had corrected Ms Mokause. He confirmed that he logged in before the meeting started. He was grateful that the Committee had approved the Bill, although the Western Cape used its right to disagree. He would report the bill's approval to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

The Chairperson thanked the members for attending the meeting on the day before Good Friday despite being busy. She wished all Members a safe travel. She wants to see everyone return on 9 April 2024, when the Committee will be dealing with the Nuclear Bill.

The meeting was adjourned.