Agricultural Research Amendment Bill: voting, Kwa Zulu-Natal consideration report

Meeting report

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This Report is a Contact Natural Resource Information Service
Taking Parliament to People, and People to Parliament
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The aim of this report is to summarise the main events at the meeting and identify the key role players. This report is not a verbatim transcript of proceedings.

LAND AND ENVIRONMENT SELECT COMMITTEE
4 October 2001
FINALISATION OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AMENDMENT BILL
CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT ON THE STUDY TOUR TO KWAZULU-NATAL

Chairperson: Rev. P. Moatshe

Documents handed out:
Agricultural Research Amendment Bill [B25B-2001]
Brief Update on Progress Made with Land Claims and Land Restitution
[Rep - KZN.LAN:1 of 6] (Department of Land and Environment)

SUMMARY
The Committee met to finalise of the Agricultural Research Amendment Bill. They approved the Bill without amendment. The Committee then adopted a Report on the Study Tour to Kwazulu-Natal.

It was decided that the Land Claims Commissioner would be invited to present an update on the progress made with Land Claims and Land Restitutions to answer any questions the Committee might have.

MINUTES
The Chairperson welcomed the members of the Committee to the meeting together with Mr Mckenzie from Kwazulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, Ms S. Naidoo, legal advisor from the Department of Agriculture, Adv. J. Bruvel, from the State Law Advisor's office.

Agricultural Research Amendment Bill Deliberation
The Chairperson advised the Committee that the representatives from the Department of Agriculture and the State Law Advisor's office were on hand to answer any questions that the Committee might have concerning the Bill. The Chairperson also advised the Committee that the words in bold type and square brackets indicated omissions from the existing Act whilst the words underlined with a solid line indicated insertions in existing Act. The Chairperson asked the Committee if they approved the Bill.

Mr K. Mokoena (ANC) suggested that the Committee go through the Bill clause by clause and then approve the Bill if all Committee Members agreed to the amendments.

Clause 1
The Chairperson read Clause 1 and asked the Committee if they had any questions. The Committee agreed to accept the clause as it was.

Clause 2
The Chairperson then read Clause 2 and asked the members if they had any questions. The Committee similarly agreed to accept the clause as it was.

Reverend M. Chabaku (ANC) asked why the Memorandum on the Object of the Bill was printed at the end of the Bill and whether it had been placed there by agreement.

The Chairperson responded that the Memorandum was not part of the Bill. He stated that the Memorandum constituted explanatory notes and asked Ms Naidoo to respond to Rev. Chabaku's concern.

Ms Naidoo agreed with the Chairperson's response to the question.

Rev. Chabaku referred the Committee members to the final paragraph of the Memorandum and stated that she did not understand why the Portfolio Committee was accountable to themselves and the Select Committee was accountable to the National Assembly.

Ms B. Thompson (ANC) pointed out that if the Committee read Clause 42(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the point of accountability would be clear.

The Chairperson confirmed that the Committee had approved the Bill without amendment and suggested that the members of the Department be released. The Committee agreed

Report on Study Tour to Kwazulu-Natal
The Committee proceeded to consider the Report on the Study Tour to Kwazulu-Natal.

Ms Thompson recommended that the report be adopted but suggested that the questions which had been raise during the tour, be followed up with the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs.

The Chairperson, Mr R. Nyakane (UDM) and Ms J. Vilakazi (IFP) all agreed on the necessity of the Minister's involvement in responding to the questions raised on the tour.

The Chairperson pointed out that the Committee would be meeting with the Minister on 16 October 2001 and suggested that the Committee should use this opportunity to address the questions to the Minister.

The Chairperson then referred to the document titled 'Brief Update on Progress Made with Land Claims and Land Restitutions' and suggested that the Committee not consider it at that stage in the meeting. He suggested that the Committee rather invite the Land Claims Commissioner to present it to the Committee so that he could answer any questions they may have.

The meeting was adjourned.

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