Question NW2307 to the President of the Republic
05 September 2018 - NW2307
Maynier, Mr D to ask the President of the Republic
(1)With reference to the reply of the Minister of Finance to question 45 on 25 June 2018 and the statement issued by the Government Communications and Information System on 14 November 2017, (a)(i) when and (ii) for what reason was the Presidential Fiscal Committee established, (b) how many times has the committee met, (c) on what date did each meeting take place, (d) what is the name of each (i) committee member and (ii) official present at each specified committee meeting and (e) what was the purpose of each specified committee meeting; (2) whether the committee has been disbanded; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2484E
Reply:
- The Presidential Fiscal Committee (PFC) was established on 11 October 2017, following the decision of the Extended Cabinet meeting of 28 September 2017, as follows:
- President of the Republic of South Africa as Chairperson
- Deputy President
- Minister of Finance
- Minister in The Presidency: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
- Minister of Science and Technology
- Minister of Economic Development
- Minister of Energy
- Deputy Minister of Finance
- Director-General in The Presidency and Secretary of the Cabinet
- Director-General: National Treasury
The position of Chairperson was later delegated by the President to the Minister of Finance.
As detailed in the Government statement of 14 November 2017 that the Honourable Member has referred to, the Committee was mandated to work with the National Treasury and other stakeholders to find creative ways of meeting the country’s fiscal targets and resolving competing priorities. In particular, the PFC was tasked with considering the proposals prepared by the National Treasury to bring the public finances back onto a sustainable path. The Committee was further mandated to make recommendations and to provide advice on spending priorities which may be considered.
The secretariat of the PFC sits with the National Treasury and therefore all secretariat-related questions should be re-directed to the PFC secretariat.
(2) While the Committee has not formally been disbanded, it has not met since 21 November 2017.