The Speakers Forum, an organisation of the Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures, as well as the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, held its last meeting for the year in Parliament this week.
Speaking during the meeting, the Chairperson of the NCOP, Ms Thandi Modise, said that the Council should not be seen as a rubber stamp of its sister, the National Assembly. "The Constitution and its drafters did not mean for the NCOP to be a duplicate or a rubber stamp of the National Assembly, but an add-on," she said.
During the two-day meeting, the forum discussed various topical issues affecting the legislative sector, including international engagements, oversight and budget allocations.
There was a lengthy discussion on the budget allocation to Parliament and the legislatures and the implementation of the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act (FMPPLA), with many Speakers and Deputy Speakers expressing concern about insufficient funding from National Treasury.
The forum resolved to request a meeting with the Minister of Finance and the nine provincial Members of Executive Councils (MECs) for finance to discuss the impact of the budget cuts on the performance of Parliament and the provincial legislatures. The forum agreed that the cutting of the legislatures' budgets impacted negatively on the sector's ability to do its work, which includes oversight, processing legislation and passing budgets.
The meeting will facilitate understanding of the implementation of the FMPPLA and the relationship between the legislative sector and the executive.
North West Legislature Speaker Ms Rebecca Dantjie said: "As legislatures we are afraid to exercise our authority given to us by the Constitution as another arm of state. We are not stamping our authority as a sector. We must be heard."
Ms Mamiki Qabathe, the Speaker of the Free State Legislature said: "When I look at the FMPPLA, I struggle to see what has changed from the Financial Management of Parliament Act. How is it that the new Act subjects us to consult with a minister instead of the executive authority of the legislative sector? We are still subjected to a cabinet decision for our budget. We need to change FMPPLA."
Sakhile Mokoena
8 December 2016
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