Adoption of Resolutions & Motivation for Investigation of Arms Deal

Meeting report

The Chair opened the meeting by noting that there would three points on the agenda, first being the adoption of resolutions for the Departments of Public Works and Public Enterprises, and secondly the Committee needed to approve its programme for the first quarter of 2008. He noted with some apprehension that Mr E Trent (DA) had put in a late request to add his motivation for investigating the Arms Deal as the final point for the agenda.

Adoption of Resolutions: Departments of Public Works and Public Enterprises
The Chair asked the Committee whether any amendments were necessary regarding the resolutions of the two departments.

Aside from minor grammatical and spelling errors, the Committee was satisfied with the drafts and agreed to adopt the resolutions.

Committee 2008 Programme
The Chair went through the programme, and motioned that the committee approve it.

The Committee assented.

Motivation for the Opening of an Investigation into the Arms Deal
The Chair noted that the Committee only received Mr Trent’s motivation an hour prior to the meeting, which gave Committee Members limited time to review the contents of the document.

Mr T Mofokeng (ANC) noted that he had not even received the document, which left him and other ANC Committee Members at a disadvantage. He asked Mr Trent whether this late addition to the agenda had been done to purposefully disadvantage other Members.

Mr Trent asserted that he had no intention of withholding information from any of the Committee Members. He did not have Mr Mofokeng’s email address.

The Chair ruled that the Committee should postpone the consideration of the motivation to the next meeting once Members had time to formulate their own opinions on Mr Trent’s proposal.

Mr T Bonhomme (ANC) was of the view that if the Members opted to discuss the motivation at the following meeting, the matter would become politicized and each Member’s position should reflect the official party position.

Mr Trent argued that he could read the two page motivation to the Committee and elaborate on some of the points he had made in the document.

The Chair replied that the Committee would leave the matter to be discussed the following week, once Members had time to digest the document.

The meeting was adjourned.