Committee Oversight Report & Planning for Jali Commission Workshop

SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE
21 February 2007
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT REPORT & PLANNING FOR JALI COMMISSION WORKSHOP

Chairperson: Kgoshi L Mokoena (ANC, Limpopo)

Documents handed out:
Draft Committee Report on oversight visit to North West Province.[available at Tabled Committee Reports once adopted]

SUMMARY
The Committee considered a revised date for its workshop on the Jali Commission Report. It was decided that it would be held on a weekend no later than June 2007. The Committee adopted its Report on its oversight visit to North West Province, with some amendments.

MINUTES:
Jali Commission Workshop
The Chairperson started the meeting by asking Members to propose a new date for the Committee’s workshop on the Jali Commission Report, as it would be impracticable to hold the workshop on the earlier date initially agreed to.

Mr D Worth (DA, Free State) suggested that the workshop be deferred to a date on which the Chair other Members would be available.

Mr Z Ntuli (ANC, KwaZulu-Natal) agreed with Mr Worth, but was also mindful of the Committee’s tight schedule. A more convenient date needed to be fixed.

Mr A Moseki (ANC, North West) agreed.

Ms F Nyanda (ANC, Mpumalanga) suggested that a suitable weekend, not later than June, be considered for the workshop.

Mr M Mzizi (IFP, Gauteng) approved of the proposal for a weekend workshop.

The Chair stated that he would liaise with the Committee Secretariat regarding the logistical arrangements.

The Chair responded that a weekend date would be considered as a last resort, as weekends were always very busy periods for Members. He informed Members of an invitation from the Regional South African Police Services (SAPS) Commissioner of the Limpopo Province to an awards event taking place that weekend, and that Ms Nyanda had graciously agreed to represent the Committee at the event.

At this Mr Mzizi complained that some Committee meetings clashed with each other and it was difficult for those Members of the Committee who belonged to as many as four Committees. He suggested that this trend be addressed.

Ms Nyanda agreed with Mr Mzizi and added that she had raised the issue with the Chief Whip.

The Chair urged the whips on the Committee to look into the issue as soon as possible.

Mr Ntuli responded that the Whips were aware of the problem and were looking into it.
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Committee Report on Oversight Visit to North West
The Chair apologized to Members who had just received the Draft Report that morning.

Mr Mzizi stated that he only received the Report the day before. He was however satisfied with the Report as the recommendations were in line with what had been agreed upon by the Committee. He proposed that the Report be adopted.
 
Mr J Le Roux (DA, Eastern Cape) informed Members that he had only received his copy on that day and suggested that Members not rush through it. The Committee’s administrative staff should have studied the Report to check for grammatical and typographical errors. If that had not already been done, the Report must be sent to them to proof read.
 
Mr N Mack (ANC, Western Cape) agreed with Mr Le Roux’s proposal that the Report be sent to the Committee Secretariat for proof reading.

Mr Moseki stated that the content of the Report was excellent but it contained minor linguistic errors which needed to be corrected. He suggested that some Committee Members join the administrative staff in proof reading the Report after which it should be returned to the desk of the Chairperson for final approval before it is printed.

Mr Ntuli agreed with Mr Moseki’s proposal.

Mr A Manyosi (ANC, Eastern Cape) also agreed. He added that the Report should be read in context.

The Chair agreed with Mr Moseki’s proposal. He stated further that language practitioners from Parliament and Committee Members would be involved in the proof reading. He recommended that Mr Manyosi and Mr Moseki join in the proof reading exercise. He led the Committee on a page-by-page consideration of the contents of the Report.

Mr Ntuli noted that the policing boundaries used by the Department of Safety and Security were not in line with those of the municipalities. He suggested that the boundaries be re-aligned. He further suggested that the Committee find out the proper procedure for the formation of Community Police Forums (CPF) to avoid future discrepancies.

Mr L Fielding (DA, Northern Cape) added that the appointment of CPF members was supposed to be a-political.

The Chair agreed, adding that the issue would form part of the Committee’s agenda for its next meeting. The Department of Safety and Security would be invited to explain the situation and reasons for it.

Mr Fielding suggested that the Committee finds out if there was currently any insurance package for police vehicles. This was important because SAPS could not function properly without adequate vehicles.

The Chair noted the point and added that it would form part of the agenda for the next meeting with that Department.

He added that the Committee’s visit to North West had been very effective as the various departments had been reporting progress since the visit. He thanked the Members for their participation in the visit and the drawing up of the Report. He concluded by noting that the Report was unanimously adopted, with amendments.

The meeting was adjourned.