Committee Annual & Oversight Reports: postponement; Committee‘s Functioning: discussion

PUBLIC WORKS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
15 November 2006
COMMITTEE ANNUAL & OVERSIGHT REPORTS: POSTPONEMENT; COMMITTEE‘S FUNCTIONING: DISCUSSION
 
Chairperson: Mr F Bhengu (ANC)
 
Documents handed out
Committee Report on Oversight visit to Acacia Park.
Draft Committee Report on Oversight visit to Limpopo Province.
Committee Annual Report 2005/06.
[All available once adopted at Tabled Committee Reports]

SUMMARY
The Chairperson initiated a discussion about the shortcomings and challenges the Committee faced. Some of the main concerns identified included the functioning of the Committee Secretary, Parliament’s support structure, a failure to do follow-ups and disputes that arose between the Committee and the provinces structures. The Committee postponed adoption of its 2006 Annual Report and its Reports on the Oversight visits to Acacia Park and the Limpopo Province.

MINUTES
Introductory remarks by Chairperson
The Chairperson confirmed that this was the Committee’s final meeting for 2006. He admitted that there were outstanding issues which he hoped would be finalised on that day.

Discussion of issues related to Committee functioning
He was of the view that the Committee needed to evaluate its functioning, and charged Member’s with the duty to interrogate whether they were letting themselves down or whether the Committee Secretary was properly assisting them. He remained convinced that the inadequate support service from the Committee section contributed to a bad year, which created a very bad image of Parliament. He concluded that Parliament should do more to help Committees.
 
Ms T Nwamitwa-Shilubana (ANC) complained that the Committee was never given the opportunity to do oversight work abroad. She rejected the notion that no funds were available, as each year the Committee reported under-spending of its allocated budget.
 
The Chairperson responded that Parliament needed to be engaged on the issue. He accused Parliament of letting the Committee down because each year the Committee submitted an annual programme with a budget attached to it.
 
Mr S Huang (ANC) agreed with the concerns raised by the Chairperson, and hoped that the matters would be resolved.
 
Mr J Blanche (DA) stated that there was something lacking in the current system that empowered Parliament to achieve its function. He advised that a person, who would report directly to the Committee, be appointed in the office of the Minister of Public Works. It would be beneficial to make comparisons with the practises followed by the Public Works Committees of other Commonwealth Parliaments.
 
The Chairperson believed that there was a problem with the liaison official, who was supposed to strengthen the relationship between the Department and the Committee. He argued that once a report had been recommended by the Committee and subsequently adopted by the House, the obligation then rested on the House to ensure that the Department complied with it.
 
Mr A Mthombeni, Department Parliamentary Liaison Officer (PLO), pointed out that there was already someone in the Ministry who functioned independently and in the interest of Parliament.
 
Ms I Stephaney, Parliamentary researcher, added that reports from the Department alone were insufficient. She stated that oversight visits were a very important aspect of the Committee’s work.
 
The Chairperson observed that the Committee mechanisms for tracking the implementation of its Reports were non-existent. Furthermore, the Committee did not have a proper evaluation structure.
 
Mr Blanche hoped that the Minister would report once a month to the Committee and provide regular reports instead of just one Annual Report. He informed Members that Cabinet, for example, maintained a record of all its decisions, who was responsible for a specific item and the date by which that official must report back to Cabinet.

The Chairperson offered that the amount of interaction with the Minister would be ascertained when the Committee next met with her.
 
Mr Huang sensed that the work of the Committee lacked focus. He suggested that the Committee’s annual programme be drawn up in consultation with the Department.
 
The Chairperson endorsed the President’s view that the Ministry should not be the coordinators but rather the drivers behind the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
 
Mr L Maduma (ANC) stated that the relationship between the Committee and the provinces needed to be looked at, because some provinces resisted the Committee’s attempts to exercise its oversight function. He bemoaned the fact that the provinces only honoured visits by their counterparts in the NCOP. Lastly, he felt that provinces acted as if they had the liberty to deny the Committee the right to visit.
 
The Chairperson emphasised the need to improve communication. He stated that service delivery should take precedence over grandstanding. He also asked the Committee Secretary to arrange a meeting with their NCOP counterparts.
 
Mr S Opperman (DA) warned against infighting. He called on the Committee to set clear objectives which must be decided upon in consultation with the provinces and the Department. He hoped that there would be specific time frames attached to the achievement of those objectives, and expressed a desire for the Committee to begin evaluating outcomes.
 
Ms T Nwamitwa-Shilubana (ANC) called for greater interaction with their counterparts in the provinces, so that they could then do follow-ups.
 
The Chairperson made known his intention to form sub committees. This would, in his view, make the work less cumbersome. Some Members of the Committee would deal with the non-financial aspects of the annual reports, and others would deal with with the financial aspects.
 
Mr Maduma requested that the Committee be provided with all the relevant Acts relating to construction, so that Members could speak from an informed position.
 
The Chairperson agreed. He voiced his frustration at the Committee Secretary’s failure to draw up minutes of the Committee’s meetings.
 
He turned the focus of the Committee to its Reports.
 
Committee 2006 Annual Report and Report on Oversight visit to Acacia Park
Neither Report was finalised. The latter report required additions, and generally Members stated that the information captured was not accurate.
 
Draft Committee Report on Oversight visit to Limpopo Province.
Mr Maduma proposed a few technical amendments. This report was also not adopted
 
The Chairperson thanked Members for their participation throughout the year, and adjourned the meeting.