The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Ms Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, has called on the NCOP to find outcomes centered on the idea of an activist, proactive and outcomes-based institution that makes material impact on the lives of the people of the country. The Chairperson was speaking today during the NCOP’s first strategic planning session of the seventh Parliament at the Capital Empire Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The goal of the session was to provide a platform for the NCOP’s presiding officers, office bearers and permanent delegates to determine policy priorities for the seventh term of office, which will guide and direct the development of the strategic plan for the term. Other participants in the session included chairpersons of committees, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, provincial whips, party whips and party representatives.
“[One] of the emerging themes evident is the requirement for a paradigm shift in oversight that reviews our procedures and processes in ways that can strengthen our committees’ effectiveness. We must also create ways that improve trust and confidence levels of the public in their institutions, through ensuring transparency, accountability and effective communication on key issues,” Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane said.
To achieve this, the Chairperson called on those present in the session to assess the NCOP’s past, present and future to find new ways for the NCOP to conduct its business. One of the critical aspects of this shift will concern the ways in which the NCOP conducts its public participation processes, one that is alive and flexible enough to adapt to various changes.
“We need to foster a broader and more plural decision-making process by actively engaging with stakeholders and seeking input on key bills and policies, geared to strengthen the legitimacy and effectiveness of our legislative efforts. Also, we must better promote public education on the functioning of Parliament to bridge the social and knowledge gap between government institutions and the public,” Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane said.
Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane also called for the NCOP to use its distinctive power to ensure greater cooperation between spheres of government for the benefit of all South Africans. “This session must find new answers on how we strengthen intergovernmental relations and cooperative governance and, where necessary, find ways where the NCOP can make policy interventions where there are impediments. Also, the NCOP must intervene in conflicts between the spheres of government, protecting and safeguarding the powers of each sphere and making sure interventions are within confines of constitution,” Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane said.
Supporting the views of the Chairperson, Mr Bhekizizwe Radebe, House Chairperson: Members Support and International Relations, suggested that the session provides the NCOP with the opportunity to reassert its authority. “We must use the distinct interface that the NCOP has with the national, provincial and local sphere of government to help improve services to the people. The NCOP must rise to the occasion and utilise its power and authority for the benefit of the people,” Mr Radebe said.
In closing, Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane called for a strategic plan that emphasises consistency between what Members of Parliament say, what they think and what they do. “Through this, the NCOP and all other organs of the state can become better instruments for genuine and real change,” Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane concluded.
Malatswa Molepo
26 September 2024
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