Committee Programme 2001; Budget Analysis Workshop

Meeting report

PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO AND SELECT COMMITTEES
20 March 2001
COMMITTEE PROGRAMME 2001; BUDGET ANALYSIS WORKSHOP

Chairperson: Mr Y Carrim

Relevant Documents:
Committee Programme 2001 (See Appendix 1)
2001 Provincial and Local Department Budget and Programmes
AFReC Workshop (for information, contact [email protected])

SUMMARY
Committee Members received copies of the draft Committee Programme for 2001 and the Department's Budget and Programmes for this year (Vote 5). The main focus of the meeting was a workshop given by AFReC on budget analysis. The new Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) sets out that budget inputs such as salaries and transport expenditure are linked to specific outputs and outcomes so it will no longer be adequate to report only on line-item expenditure. Both spending and service delivery information have to be reported.

MINUTES
A representative from AFReC gave a workshop on analysing the budget. With the introduction of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) both national and provincial departments will have to conform to certain requirements. The PFMA is subject only to the Constitution and it supercedes all other laws.

The PFMA emphasises linking resources and service delivery; in other words, this means inputs such as salaries and transport expenditure are linked to specific outputs and outcomes. This means it is no longer adequate to report only on line-item expenditure. Both spending and service delivery information have to be reported. This is all about questions of value for money. This can be thought of in two general categories, 'delivery efficiency', or 'doing things right' and allocative efficiency' or 'doing the right things'.

The workshop raised questions about factors which may have a bearing on a particular spending agency's budget, looking at both the revenue side (where finances come from) and the expenditure side (what activities, goods and services are being financed). From the expenditure side, it looked at how a budget can be analysed by programme, by standard item, by economic category and by gender.

[The Afrec documentation on budget analysis has not been reproduced here for copyright reasons. Please contact them directly for information on budget analysis.]

Appendix 1:
Provincial and Local Government Portfolio Committee: National Assembly
Draft Committee Programme for 2001

1. INTRODUCTION
- This programme builds on the programmes we adopted over the past two years and must be situated within the framework of the broad aims, perspectives and programme set out in our September 1999* formulation of our work.

- Given the nature of our work, our programme is inevitably provisional. But we usually fulfill almost everything in our programmes - and this is likely to happen again this year.

2. KEY THEMES
- Our programme for the year will revolve around:

· Implementation of the new system of local government.

· Restructuring of local government finances.

· Inter-governmental relations and the provincial system in particular.

· Traditional Leadership and Institutions

- Two of our key concerns will be the Ministry and Department's responsibilities for urban renewal and the integrated sustainable rural development strategy.

- Overall our concern will be to locate our work in the context of the challenges of economic growth, job-creation and development.

3. LEGISLATION
- In terms of the Department's programme we expect the following legislation this:

· Traditional Authorities Powers and Functions Bill - March 2001

· Disaster Management Bill - April 2001

· Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Amendment Bill -April 2001

· Property Rating Bill - August 2001

· Repeal of Outdated Local Government Legislation - August 2001

· Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities - after June

· Volkstaat Council Bill - after June

· Legislation Emanating from the White Paper Process on Traditional Leadership - after June

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

- We will be consistently and constantly monitoring and evaluating and, very crucially, participating in the implementation of the new local government system

- Given the magnitude of the local government transformation, we certainly cannot expect the Ministry and Department alone to implement the new system. A wide range of stakeholders have to be actively and consistently involved. This includes the provincial governments, SALGA, municipalities, trade unions, business, political parties and major sections of civil society. As MPs, through fulfilling our constituency and party obligations in particular ways, we can play a very significant role in contributing to the implementation of the new local government system.

- Among the issues of implementation we will address in our Portfolio Committee work this year are:

· The amalgamation of municipalities (transfer of staff, assets, etc) and progress in the immediate transitional period

· Distribution of powers and functions between District and Local municipalities

· Restructuring of local government finances

· Community participation, IDPs and performance management

· Restructuring of municipal services

· Delivery of free basic water and electricity services

· Restructuring of the administration

· Capacity-building programmes

· Phasing in the implementation of the Municipal Systems Act


5. IGR AND THE PROVINCIAL SYSTEM
- We would need further discussion with the Department and among ourselves to develop this part of our programme.

6. TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP AND INSTITUTIONS
6.1 - Aspects of this part of our programme include:

· Legislation on Traditional Leadership and local government

· Green and White Papers on Traditional Leadership

· Legislation flowing from the Green and White Paper process.

7. BUDGET
- We need to link the vision, aims, programmes and plans of the Ministry and Department more concertedly with the budget. We need to play our oversight and other roles much more effectively in this regard.

- Related to this, we need to drastically improve our skills and technical abilities to evaluate the budget.

8. STUDY TOURS
- It would be very useful for the Portfolio Committee to visit a range of our municipalities across the country to monitor more comprehensively progress in the implementation of the new system of local government.

- Pending finances and the organisational possibilities, consideration will be given to organizing study tours of appropriate countries around:

· IGR, with a particular focus on provincial systems; and/or

· Local Government finances

9. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
- To play our role more effectively we have to develop our understanding and our technical skills. We will have aspects of an education and training programme throughout the year.

10. NOT FINAL PROGRAMME

10.1 - As the year progresses, we will, of course, fine-tune our programme.
You are welcome to make any suggestions in this regard.

- There is a lot for us to do! Let us do much of it as possible!

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME