Parliament, Friday, 24 November 2017 – A joint meeting of the Standing and Select Committees on Appropriations was on Wednesday, 22 November 2017, briefed by the National Treasury and the Department of Home Affairs on the 2017 Adjustments Appropriation Bill.

A number of members raised their concerns with the process followed in considering the Adjustments Appropriations Bill, since the Committees are yet to receive the official referral of the Bill. The Co-chairperson of the joint meeting, Ms Yvonne Phosa said that the purpose of the meeting was not to consider the bill, but that the meeting was rather for informational purposes. Parliament’s Legal Adviser briefed the Committees on the processes and procedures around the considerations of bills. Parliament’s Legal Adviser indicated, amongst others, that the bill became a public document as soon as it was tabled by the Minister in the National Assembly and that there are no rules which stop relevant Parliamentary Committees from commencing with consultations and gathering information on this public document in preparation for formal consideration.

During the first half of the briefing, the joint Committee raised its concerns with the number of virements approved by National Treasury for various departments. One of these virements included, under the Department of Transport, is a capital transfer of R380 million for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). National Treasury officials indicated that this was a shifting of funds to address maintenance issues, to strengthen the discipline of PRASA in maintaining their assets instead of building new ones. Officials were requested to provide the Committees with a memorandum to outline these virements and highlight those that need specific approval from Parliament.

The presentation on National Treasury’s Budget Vote 7 adjustments highlighted the allocations to the Jobs Fund which has to date generated 182,189 sustainable jobs, filled 54 769 permanent positions and created a total of 27 323 short-term jobs. The Co-chairpersons, while welcoming these figures, expressed their concerns with the under spending of R44 million of the R6.1 billion budgeted funds by the Department which they believe should be leading by example. The Committee will be provided with further details on the Jobs Fund.

The joint Committee welcomed the submissions of Home Affairs and National Treasury on issues pertaining to their votes and on the budget process. It also emphasised to both Departments that cooperative governance is critical and working together is very important.

In considering the 2017 Adjusted Appropriation Bill, the joint Committee was emphatic that Parliament and its Committees are all committed to ensuring that budgets adhere to the principles of openness, efficiency and effectiveness.

ISSUED BY PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE STANDING AND SELECT COMMITTEES ON APPROPRIATIONS, MRS YVONNE PHOSA AND MR CHAREL DE BEER.

For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the Committee’s Media Officer:

Name: Felicia Lombard
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8285
Cell: 081 548 7011
E-mail: flombard@parliament.gov.za