Department Annual Audit Report: Auditor-General’s briefing

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Communications and Digital Technologies

17 October 2006
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Meeting Summary

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Meeting report

PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS
17 October 2006
POSTAL SERVICES AMENDMENT BILL: ADOPTION

Chairperson: Mr G Oliphant (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Postal Services Amendment Bill [B22-2006]
Democratic Alliance Amendments (see Appendix)

SUMMARY
The Committee had completed its in-depth discussion and deliberations on the Bill, and the Bill was adopted with amendments. One of the major contested issues within the Bill was the five year period between reviews, with some Members suggested that this was too long a period. It was later agreed that the period would not be amended.

MINUTES
The Chairperson gave a brief introduction about the issues to be discussed, and referred also to highlights of the previous meeting.

Democratic Alliance amendments
Clause 1
The Chair stated that the DA suggested that 1(b) should be deleted.

Ms M Smuts (DA) stated that she withdrew this proposed deletion.

Clause 3
He noted the DA proposal that the reference to “ICT sector” in 2A(1) be substituted with postal industry, as that would make it directly relevant to the sector it regulated.

Clause 5
He noted the DA proposal that this clause be deleted.

Ms Smuts explained that her motivation was that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) should be the regulator of postal services, because it was their responsibility exclusively.

Mr R Mohlalonga (ANC) responded that the constitutionally entrenched responsibility was granted to the Minister of Communications, to devise policies for the postal sector.
 
Adv P Swart (DA) was of the view that the five year period for the review process was too long a period. He proposed that three years should be the maximum term without a review.

Mr Mohlalonga highlighted that the clause did stipulate a five year period “or such period as the Minister may determine”. Furthermore, every policy was in any event subject to continuous review.

Mr R Pieterse (ANC) said that when a policy is implemented, a good amount of time needed to be granted in order to gauge the progress of the review. He said that reviews conducted within three years would probably be a full review, whereas reviews conducted within two years of implementation would be a small review aimed at gauging progress made. The Minister must then be informed if the policy was not functioning as anticipated.

Adv Swart (DA) suggested that the phrase “or on the request of Parliament” be inserted after the words “as the Minister may determine”.

Mr K Khumalo (ANC) said that he would like better motivations form all those who opposed the Bill as it currently stood. He was of the view that everyone had moved past the notion that policy decisions should be made based on fears. He said that the ANC had agreed on five years, because it had been properly exercising its oversight function.

Further amendments
Clause 4
The Chair stated that the Department of Communications felt that the term “essential services” in (b) might not have been appropriate, and proposed its substitution with the term “basic services” instead.

Motion of Desirability
The Chair passed the Motion of Desirability, which was agreed to by Members.

Adoption of Bill
Committee members voted on the following amendments as follows:

Clauses 1, 2 and 6 - 11
Members agreed to the clauses, without amendments.

Clause 3
The Committee agreed to the clause, as amended by the proposal from the DA.

Clause 4
Members agreed to the clause, as amended.

Clause 5
Based on a majority vote, the Committee agreed that the clause would be adopted as it currently stood in the Bill. The DA disagreed.

Committee Report on the Bill
The Chair read the Report on the Bill, to which Members agreed. He noted that the Bill had been adopted with amendments.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

APPENDIX

POSTAL SERVICES AMENDMENT BILL
DA amendments distribution


Clause 1: delete (b)

Clause 3: In line 10, omit ICT sector and substitute postal industry.

Clause 5: delete

Regards
Dene Smuts

Merle Carlese – Caucus Secretary
Marks Building-M250
Parliament


 

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