VENUE: HYBRID DATE: 30 MAY 2023 TIME: 14H00
Honourable Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
Honourable House Chairpersons and Chief Whip of the Council
Honourable Permanent and Special Delegates
Representatives of the South Africa Local Government Association
Ladies and gentlemen
House Chairperson, Parliament has the responsibility to represent the interests of the people by, among other things, passing legislation, scrutinising executive action, and facilitating public involvement.
Since 1994, the democratic Parliament has served as the beacon of hope and the lodestar for our people, and we expect it to do so for generations to come. It has played a leading role in the achievement of a united South Africa, largely free of racism, and of a society that is based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
However, as we prepare to celebrate 30 years of democracy in the year 2024, our efforts continue to be weighed down by the structural challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
As highlighted by the President of the Republic during the State of the Nation Address earlier this year, unemployment, poverty and rising cost of living are some of the challenges that currently concern South Africans. Unfortunately, they are exacerbated by loadshedding, crime and corruption.
OVERVIEW OF THE WORK OF THE NCOP
House Chairperson, law-making is one of the means through which we seek to ensure that the challenges facing our society are addressed. Key among the legislations we have passed as the National Council of Provinces during the period under review were the finance legislations aimed at appropriating finance to government departments and the allocation of revenues to the three spheres of government.
We welcome the Expropriation Bill which, among other things, seeks to provide for the expropriation of property for a public purpose or in the public interest and the other Bills which have since been transmitted to the NCOP from the National Assembly.
The NCOP also processed 45 reports of Select Committees. In the main, the reports dealt with recommendations to the executive on a number of issues which include economic growth, expenditure and performance of national grants, and the approval of interventions in terms of section 139 of the Constitution as part of fostering co-operative government.
The 49 sittings of the House during this period included 19 debates. These included the consideration of the report on assessing state capacity to respond to the needs of communities, the socio-economic impact and threat of the production and trade in counterfeit products, the restoration and modernisation of our rail infrastructure, water infrastructure network for sustainable water supply to communities, and the debate on the killing of Councillors which emanated from the 2022 Local Government Week.
We continued to conduct oversight over the Executive through utilising the mechanisms of Questions, Ministerial Briefings, following-up on Executive undertakings and House resolutions. This was intended to assist us in achieving our goal of increasing government’s responsiveness and accountability as per the policy priorities for the 6th Parliament.
The end of the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated restrictive measures enabled us to increase our public participation engagements. The holding of the Taking Parliament to the People Programme in KwaZulu-Natal’s Ugu District in November 2022 is a case in point. Before the end of this year, we expect to facilitate feedback sessions on the many issues that were raised by the people during that encounter.
THE OVERALL WORK OF PARLIAMENT
Key achievements in the past financial year
House Chairperson, broadly, Parliament continued to adapt to the challenges occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and the great loss of the National Assembly and adjacent building complexes to fire. It forged ahead and exercised its constitutional tasks with dedication and diligence, making use of physical and hybrid proceedings.
Oversight visits, public hearings, committee meetings and certain ad hoc meetings of Parliament increased compared to the previous year.
In respect of law-making
Parliament’s constitutional mandate of law-making was successfully executed, resulting in the passing of 27 Bills during this period, including:
- The Local Government Municipal Systems Amendment Bill, to further build the capacity of the state at local government level;
- The Employment Equity Amendment Bill, to encourage fairness and equality in the workplace;
- The (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill and the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities) Amendment Bill, to strengthen the fight against corruption, fraud and terrorism;
- The (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill, to set up a comprehensive forensic DNA database to strengthen the fight against crime, among other things; and
- The Electoral Amendment Bill, to provide for independent candidates to contest election at a provincial and national level.
Parliament also passed the national budget for the applicable financial years (Division of Revenue Bills, and Appropriation Bills). In conjunction with other legislation, the budget is the most powerful instrument by which government can implement its priorities and effect change in order to eliminate poverty, and to reduce unemployment and inequality.
In respect of oversight
Parliament continued to strengthen measures aimed at ensuring greater accountability by the Executive. Parliamentary committees held one thousand three hundred and thirteen virtual meetings (1313), conducting budget reviews, and monitoring the implementation of legislation.
Parliamentary committees also embarked on 75 oversight visits and conducted one hundred and ninety-eight (198) public hearings on Bills.
As already in the case of the NCOP, both Houses held sittings that dealt with debates on issues of national importance, reports, policy, and Bills.
A total of six thousand two hundred and ninety-six (6296) questions were put to the Executive – that is seven hundred and sixty-one oral questions (761) and five thousand five hundred and thirty-five (5535) written questions.
Led by the Speakers’ Forum, the Legislative Sector continued to work towards enhancing our collective mandate of oversight, by ensuring that oversight is not just about technical compliance but that it is focused on improving the quality of life of South Africans.
In respect of international engagement
House Chairperson, several of South Africa’s challenges can only be addressed through improved international and regional co-operation.
The World Economic Forum indicated, correctly so, that global risks such as infectious diseases, climate action failure, extreme weather patterns, biodiversity loss, geo-economic confrontation, debt crises, trade barriers, cyber security failures, and natural resource crises will all require greater co-operation and collaboration.
During 2022 Parliament continued with its work on regional, continental and international platforms. It further adopted the international agreements including the protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa.
On audit outcome
Parliament continued to achieve a clean audit for the 8th consecutive year. Also, critical to note is that despite the declining fiscal allocations caused by deteriorating economic conditions, the control environment remained strong, as the Audit Committee, Internal Audit and the Risk Management capacity progressively improved.
On the new macro framework for Parliament
In order to prepare the institution for transition to the 7th Parliament, a review of the institutional strategy was conducted in November 2022 with the theme of “Improving the quality of governance and accountability through enhanced oversight”. The session served as a platform to consider updates in the operating environment, assess the performance of the institution in executing strategy, and make recommendations with regards to the strategy and the budget of the institution.
The deliberations from the session culminated in a draft macro framework for the 7th Parliament, with the following strategic themes:
- Ensuring a transformative Parliament to drive the attainment of national development outcomes;
- Being a responsive Parliament that addresses the shortcomings and challenges of Parliament;
- Collaborative engagement to form new partnerships in order to harness the strength of combined effort;
- Engagement with stakeholders so as to meet expectations and needs of South Africans; and
- Operational excellence to ensure a more effective and efficient institution.
House Chairperson, moving the institution into this new strategic direction will require significant transformation and change. Therefore, a transformative strategy will be required to drive the change necessary to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the institution.
The transformational targets set for 2023/24 include:
- High-level change management plan to ensure transformation of the institution;
- Implementation of the plan for the restoration of Parliamentary buildings;
- Professionalising the Parliamentary Service to ensure service excellence;
- Developing and implementing a new broadcasting strategy for the 7th Parliament.
- Implementation of the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture ();
- Data modelling and scenario tools to improve the quality of oversight;
- Implementation of an impact assessment framework;
- Development and implementation of an effective petitions framework; and,
- Reviewing Parliament’s capability to implement its international priorities aligned to the national agenda.
On current and emerging issues and risks
The government has acknowledged that as the world emerges from a three-year long Covid-19 pandemic, several other risks to growth and development are taking centre stage, including the rise in inflation, energy volatility, debt levels, major natural disasters, and the rise of geo-political tensions. Inadequate electricity supply, as Honourable Members know, remains the most immediate and significant constraint to production, investment and employment.
The context for Vote 2
The 2023/24 budget for Parliament (Vote 2) is set against the backdrop of declining budgets in the state as a whole.
The present downward trend is forecast to continue during the medium-term. Slower economic growth is now expected, putting more pressure on Parliament to manage its budget downwards. In recent years Parliament implemented cost containment measures and efficiency initiatives, which have reduced operational costs.
Although there is currently a budget shortfall, the under-expenditure resulted in unspent funds to be used to address the shortfall for the 2023/24 budget. However, without taking steps to correct the allocation, or reducing expenditure, a significant budget shortfall could occur in years to come.
In addition to the reduced budget, the composition of Vote 2 carries structural challenges. Whereas the overall budget appears to be significant for 2023/24, the amount available for discretionary allocation is small. The Accounting Officer has limited control over certain allocations in the budget. These include direct charge for Members’ remuneration, salary adjustments decided by the sector bargaining process, and facilities for Members. This has to be addressed.
Vote 2
House Chairperson, the total budget for Parliament amounts to R4.3 billion. The total allocation received from the National Treasury amounts to R3.8 billion. The shortfall of R456 million will be funded by retained earnings, donor funding and revenue of Parliament. This shortfall is largely driven by the cost of employment.
The budget of Parliament has been allocated as follows:
- Programme 1: Administration, R2.1 billion;
- Programme 2: Legislation and Oversight, R894 million
- Programme 3: Associated Services and Transfer Payments to Political Parties, R831 million.
The Parliamentary Budget Office - a separate entity in terms of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act - receives a transfer payment under Programme 3 and will need more funding over time to function effectively.
IN CONCLUSION
House Chairperson, the financial resources being availed to Parliament should help to improve the quality of governance and accountability so as to contribute to addressing the structural challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality in society. This is important as the year 2024 will mark 30 years since the onset of the democratic order.
I would like to thank the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Presiding Officers of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures, for a great working relationship. In particular, I would like to thank the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Honourable Lucas, the House Chairpersons Honourable Nyambi and Honourable Ngwenya, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, Honourable Mohai, for some sterling work. I also take this opportunity to express appreciation to the Permanent and Special Delegates, and the representatives of SALGA, for anchoring the work of this House in particular and Parliament in general.
Lastly, I thank the Secretary to Parliament, Mr Xolile George, for a dose of inspiration to the administration; the Secretary to the NCOP, Adv. Modibedi Phindela and his team, and the entire parliamentary support structure, for always being at our beck and call.
I thank you.
30 May 2023
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