NCOP Public Petitions and Executive Undertakings

In contrast to other committees of Parliament, the Select Committee on Public Petitions and Executive Undertakings does not have specific department or entities falling within its portfolio and instead deals with Government Departments or entities to the extent that it has referred the subject matter of a petition or executive undertaking to a particular department or entity. Moreover, because the petitions and executive undertakings referred to the Committee cover a range or spectrum of issues, the Committee constantly finds itself dealing with a continuum of sectors, departments, institutions and entities.

At present, the Committee has two mandates or function, namely considering the petitions referred to it and scrutinising the implementation of executive undertakings referred to it.

Petitions

Section 69 (d) of the Constitution provides that the National Council of Provinces (“NCOP”) may receive petitions, representations or submissions. The Rules of the NCOP stipulates that one of the general powers of all Committees of the NCOP is to receive petitions, representations or submissions from interested persons on institutions. The receipt of petitions in the NCOP in this sense, is further strengthened by the establishment of the Committee which is expressly or specifically mandated to consider the petitions referred to it. To be precise, NCOP Rules provide for the establishment the Committee and further stipulate that the core mandate of the Committee is to consider all petitions referred to the NCOP.

The mandate or function of the Committee, in this regard, is also reinforced by the following extensive powers and responsibilities:

• To refer the subject matter of a petition referred to it to the Executive or particular department or another administrative agency for further attention;
• To recommend to the NCOP any course of action it deems fit and proper; and
• To keep the petitioner informed of the decision or other course of action with regard to the petition and the reason thereof.

In summary, the Committee enables Parliament (via the NCOP) to constructively deal with petitions and further enhances Parliament’s role in the petitioning process. Put differently, the mandate or function of the Committee is to ensure that appropriate action is taken in respect of each petition accepted by Parliament and to take responsibility for ensuring the resolution of each petition that it accepts.

 Executive Undertakings

During the configuration of the NCOP Committees for the Fifth Parliament, the Committee was accorded the additional mandate of scrutinising and overseeing the implementation of executive undertakings made on the floor of the House, from time to time, by members of the Executive. Despite being accorded the additional mandate of scrutinising and overseeing the implementation of executive undertakings, the rules or guidelines enabling the Committee to fulfil this mandate have yet to be developed by Parliament and this has hampered (and continues to hamper) the ability of the Committee to fulfil this particular mandate. Notwithstanding the absence of such rules or guidelines, the Committee resolved, at the beginning of the Fifth Parliament, to be proactive around the development of rules or guidelines in relation to the mandate and accordingly developed and adopted a set of executive undertakings guidelines on 28 October 2015.

The functions of Select Committees
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) appoints a number of Select Committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments and to deal with Bills.

Because only 54 of the 90 NCOP Members are permanent delegates compared to the 400 of the NA, the Select Committees oversee the work of more than one national government department. Portfolio committees mirror portfolios in government whilst select committees mirror the clusters in government.

Select committees, and their subcommittees, meet whenever necessary and as determined in accordance with the Rules of the NCOP and the decisions and directives of the House Chairperson of Committees.

The select committees must report to the Council on matters referred to the committee on all decisions taken by it expect those concerning internal business.

Learn more about the work of this Committee: Legacy Reports

Working in Committees allows Parliament to:

-Increase the amount of work that can be done

-Ensure that issues can be debated in more detail than in plenary sessions

-Increase the level of participation of Members of Parliament (MPs) in discussions

-Enable MPs to develop expertise and in-depth knowledge of the specific Committee's area of work

-Provide a platform for the public to present views directly to MPs, something which is not possible in a plenary sitting of Parliament

-Provide an environment for Parliament to hear evidence and collect information related to the work of a specific Committee

Powers

Rule 121 of the NCOP Rules (10^th Edition) states that 

- For the purposes of performing their functions Select Committees may, subject to the Constitution, legislation, these Rules and resolutions of the Council – 

(a) summons any person to appear before it to give evidence on oath or affirmation, or to produce documents; 

(b) receive petitions, representations or submissions from interested persons or institutions; 

(c) conduct public hearings; 

(d)  determine their own procedure; 

(e)  exercise any other powers assigned to them by the Constitution, legislation, NCOP Rules or resolutions of the Council. 

Committee Membership

Provinces are entitled to be equally represented in committees except where these Rules provide otherwise or in the case of matters to which section 75 of the Constitution applies. When committee members are appointed, the need for women to be fairly represented on committees must be taken into account.  If women are not fairly represented on Council committees, the Chairperson and the delegation heads must consider methods of achieving fair representation.

Read more:  Committees in the Seventh Parliament: Critical Forums for Oversight

 Select Committees in practice

With the agreement of members, the Committee staff sets the dates and times of committee meetings. The frequency of committee meetings is determined by a committee’s work programme but it is normal for a committee to meet weekly. From time to time, committees can meet more than once a week if they work programme so demands.

Section 72(1)(b) of the Constitution requires that the National Council of Provinces and it’s committees conduct their business in an open manner. Section 79(2) states that the National Assembly may not exclude the public or the media unless it is ‘reasonable and justifiable to do so in an open and democratic society’. NCOP Rule 127 further states that:

Meetings of committees and subcommittees are open to the public, including the media, and the member presiding may not exclude the public, including the media, from the meeting, except when –

(a)        legislation, these Rules or resolutions of the Council provide for the committee or subcommittee to meet in closed session; or

(b)        the committee or subcommittee is considering a matter which is –

(i)         of a private nature that is prejudicial to a particular person;

(ii)         protected under parliamentary privilege, or for any other reason privileged in terms of the law;

(iii)        confidential in terms of legislation; or

(iv)        of such a nature that its confidential treatment is for any other reason reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society.

Who attends Committee Meetings?

• MPs (those assigned to the committee and if they so wish, any other MP)
• Committee Staff: Committee Secretary, Committee Assistant, Researcher, Content Advisor
• Departments, entities, organizations, individuals and experts who are invited by the Committee to speak and be questioned
• Parliamentary Legal Advisor (from time to time)
• Media
• General Public

THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES OF PARLIAMENT

Portfolio Committees
The National Assembly (NA) appoints from among its members a number of Portfolio Committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments.

Select Committees
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) appoints from its permanent members a number of Select Committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments and to deal with Bills.

Because only 54 of the 90 NCOP Members are permanent delegates compared to the 400 of the NA, the Select Committees oversee the work of more than one national government department.

Public Accounts Committees
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Public Accounts acts as Parliament's watchdog over the way taxpayers' money is spent by the Executive. Every year the Auditor-General tables reports on the accounts and financial management of the various government departments and State institutions.

Heads of government departments and institutions are regularly called by this committee to report and account for expenditure. The Committee can recommend that the National Assembly takes corrective actions if necessary.

Internal Committees
The National Assembly has a number of internal committees that deal with matters affecting the running of Parliament. The Committees normally consist of senior Members of Parliament. The Rules Committee and its sub-committees deal with House rules. There are structures to deal with support for Members, internal arrangements, disciplinary matters and powers and privileges of members. Other internal Committees are the Programme Committee that plans the work of the Assembly, the Disciplinary Committee, and the Committee of Chairpersons.

The National Council of Provinces also has its own domestic Committees. The Rules Committee and its subcommittees deal with the NCOP rules. There are structures to deal with support for Members, internal arrangements, disciplinary matters and powers and privileges of members. The Programme Committee plans the work of the NCOP and the Committee of Chairpersons make recommendations about the functioning of Committees and other NCOP forums.

Ad hoc Committees
Parliament or one of its Houses may appoint an ad hoc (temporary) Committee when a special task must be done. When the task is complete, the Committee is dissolved.

Joint Committees
The National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces together appoint several joint committees. There are currently six Joint Committees:

Committees play a very important role in the process of building democracy and involving the public in the processes and activities of Parliament.