Committee Reports on Development Bank South Africa and Kwazulu-Natal Municipalities visits

FINANCE SELECT COMMITTEE
18 October 2006
COMMITTEE REPORTS ON DEVELOPMENT BANK SOUTH AFRICA AND KWAZULU-NATAL MUNICIPALITIES VISITS

Chairperson: Mr. T Ralane (ANC) [Free State]

Documents handed out:
Committee Report: Oversight visit to Development Bank of Southern Africa
Committee Report: Oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal Municipalities
[Reports available once tabled at Committee Reports]

SUMMARY
The Committee met to discuss the reports on the oversight visits to the Development Bank of Southern Africa and another joint oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal municipalities. As the reports had not been distributed to members early enough, it was agreed that the Committee discuss the reports at its next meeting. The Committee discussed its programme for this session.

MINUTES
Committee Reports
Members of the Committee expressed their concern that they had received the Oversight Visit Reports only that morning, just before the meeting. Hence they had not had time to read through the reports and did not know what was in them. The Committee agreed to postpone discussion on the reports until the next meeting.

Mr T Ralane pointed out an error in the Report on the Oversight to the Development Bank of Southern Africa. On page two of the report it stated that the Committee suggested that the DBSA had a lack of funding from the government, when in fact the Committee had never agreed on that.

Committee Programme
Ms B Robinson (DA) suggested that the Committee have a workshop to prepare for the upcoming budget discussions and the Department must be requested to send its presentation documents, reports and other information before to enable the Committee to prepare themselves for the meeting.

Mr Ralane stressed the need for the Committee to have the budget statements of MECs to enable the Committee to monitor them properly. He expressed his concerns about the provinces that have different priorities, which then alter the budgets they have been given to suit their needs without informing the Department or the Committees of the changes they have made.

Further he asked the Committee if it could meet again with Eskom together with the municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal because of the mismatch in stories from both parties. Eskom claimed that they were complying with the regulations whereas some municipalities disagreed with Eskom.
He suggested that the Committee do an oversight tour of the municipalities in the Eastern Cape and arrange a meeting with the provincial department dealing with Local Government and its Treasury to see what the issues were with regards to roads and other infrastructure in the municipalities.

Mr D Botha (ANC, Limpopo) suggested that rigorous oversight be done on provincial treasuries because of the mismanagement of funds that had occurred in the past.

The meeting was adjourned.