Socio-Economic Development: Committee Report for African Peer Review Mechanism: discussion

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOINT AD HOC COMMITTEE
1 February 2006
AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM COMMITTEE REPORT: DISCUSSION

Chairperson: Mr R Mohlaloga (ANC)

Documents handed out
Committee Progress Report (not available until adopted)

SUMMARY
The Committee went through proposed amendments to their African Peer Review Mechanism report. Some suggestions for further amendments were made and the Committee decided to meet again and view the finalised draft before adopting the report.

MINUTES
The Chairperson suggested that the Committee should look at all the amendments to its African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) report as compiled by the parliamentary research unit.

Mr Mvulane, Committee Researcher, suggested that there was a need for the revision of the conclusion of Objective 1 which was not discussed at the previous meeting.

Mr S Njikelana asked for clarity on the status of the document. The Committee agreed that the revised addition was the one that would be discussed.

Mr Mvulane went through Objective 2, which focussed on accelerating socio-economic development and poverty eradication as stipulated in the United Nations Millennium Goals.

Ms C Dudley (ACDP) felt that Members should not tamper with the suggestions for Objective 2. The Chairperson said that all Members were entitled to their own opinion which could be debated and the convincing view would prevail.

Mr Mvulane said that Objective 3 was vague on the distribution of condoms and the number of sites where the condoms were distributed. Ms Dudley said that the wording of the conclusion should be changed so that all the points could be clarified.

Mr S Njikelana concurred with Ms Dudley that the wording was not clear enough.

Mr Mvulane said that Objective 4 clearly stated that the housing backlog was 2, 2 million housing units. Ms Dudley asked whether the 2, 2 million housing backlog took into account the new backlog. She then asked for the year in which the housing shortage statistics had been gathered. Ms Mashiane wanted to know whether there was a national database regarding the housing backlog.

The Chairperson and Ms Dudley felt that the research unit should get the correct statistics from the Department of Housing for the benefit of the Committee.

Ms Dudley said that the first and second paragraph were not clear enough.

The Chairperson said that the statement referred to the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The Committee felt that the Committee clerk and researchers had to carefully work out the wording of the whole document. He added that the report would be sent to the JCC for final consolidation. Then the report would be sent to a joint sitting of the Houses.

Members felt that they should meet again and view the finalised draft before the report was adopted.

The meeting was adjourned.