Committee Report on Correctional Services Budget: adoption

Meeting report

CORRECTIONAL PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
7 April 2005
COMMITTEE REPORT ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES BUDGET: ADOPTION

Chairperson: Mr D Bloem (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Draft Committee Report on Budget Vote 20 of the Department of Correctional Services for 2005/06 (available shortly from Committee Reports)

SUMMARY
The Committee discussed its draft report on the Department’s budget. The report was adopted by the Committee, with a few minor amendments.

MINUTES

Report of Portfolio Committee on Department's 2005/06 budget
The Committee read through the Report which opened with an overview of the Department’s strategic priorities and budget for 2005/06. Following this, it outlined some of the concerns that stakeholders had raised about the budget, during a public hearing on 5 April. It then highlighted some of the Committee’s observations and concerns. The report ended with the Committee’s recommendations regarding the Department’s budget.

Discussion
The Chairperson enquired, page by page, if any of the members had suggestions regarding possible amendments to the draft report. A few minor technical amendments were suggested.

One substantive amendment was the deletion of the sentence within the section dealing with the Committee’s observations and concerns. The sentence related to the Department’s presentation on its proposed movement to a seven day establishment and stated that: "In time, Sunday may also be declared a normal working day".

Ms S Chikunga (ANC) felt that this statement had the possibility of being contentious because, as it stood, it was unqualified. Mr J Selfe (DA) added that the Department still had to negotiate altering the status of Sunday, but the Committee needed to be clear that the Department had stated that it intended to eventually make Sunday a normal working day. Ms Chikunga and the Chairperson then noted that Sunday was not the same as any other day, and that if one worked on Sunday, one should be compensated with double pay. They noted that the Department had to operate within the Labour Relations Act. The Chairperson believed that the sentence should be deleted, as the Department would not be defining Sunday as a normal working day in 2005/06. If, and when, the Department directly moved to make Sunday a normal working day, then the Committee could examine and deal with the matter. To keep the sentence in the report at this point could raise problems. It was decided to delete the sentence.

With a few amendments, the report was then adopted by the Committee.

The meeting was adjourned.