GCIS MEDIA BRIEFING
9 September 2003
SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT AND CHAIRPERSON OF NCOP

Documents handed out:
Press briefing note on Programme of Parliament (Appendix)

Briefing by Speaker of Parliament and Chairperson of NCOP
Mr Luphumzo Kebeni (Head of Media Liaison, GCIS) introduced Dr Frene Ginwala (Speaker of the House) and Ms Naledi Pandor (Chairperson of the NCOP). He welcomed the parliamentary delegation from Zambia who attended the briefing.

Legislation
Ms Pandor briefed the media on NCOP activity in the third and fourth terms. Legislation before Select Committees included four section 76 and three section 75 Bills. The National Assembly is currently looking at fourteen section 75 and three section 76 Bills. The Financial Management of Parliament and Legislature Bills and the Powers and Privileges Bill are still to be finalised for introduction.

Committee Work
Ms Pandor referred in particular to the Human Rights Commission’s 4^th Economic and Social Report 2002-3. An early report was expected from public hearings held after which the House will deliberate on it.

International Visits and Conferences
Two visits are scheduled for September and October this year. A delegation from the Senate of the Czech Republic led by the President of the Senate, Dr Petr Pithart will arrive later this month. The Chinese Peoples’ Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) led by the deputy chairperson, Mr Zhang Huaixi will visit the country in October this year.

NCOP Development thus far
It was felt that the early democratic experience and institutions of government should be documented for future political actors in society.

Other Programmes
The African Capacity Building Foundation agreed to put a support programme in place for Parliament. The agreement would be signed on 9 September 2003 and would serve to improve interaction in Constituencies and was expected to commence with the induction of the new Parliament.

"Taking Parliament to the People" is a programme that would continue to ensure that people participate in the democratic process. Community media was being investigated to facilitate better communication regarding the workings of the NCOP.

Other challenges in terms of oversight mechanisms included looking at the impact of the crossing-the-floor legislation, finalising procedure for conferring Provincial mandates, improving participation in local government and addressing the limited number of Permanent Members for the NCOP.

Dr Ginwala that the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Bills would be introduced on Wednesday. A Bill in draft form addresses the unfinished business of TRC as many issues were still outstanding. Concerning National Committee work, resources will be increased and the capacity of the NCOP is to be strengthened. A draft agreement with the EU is set to make resources available next year. A book publishing unit would be established where debates would be bound and, in the case of tributes, be made available to the families. The first two of these would be dedicated to the legacies of Robert Sibukwe and Walter Sisulu.

Pan African Parliament (PAP) and the African Union (AU)
National Assembly work is being dedicated to preparing for the introduction of the Pan African Parliament (PAP). The first meeting is to be held on or before 31 January 2004, before which South Africa must ratify. Five Members must be selected as representatives to PAP. Various issues concerning composition, representivity and election procedure need to be considered. Concerning the development of the African Union (AU), it is necessary that civil society be involved. A report to be released on 9 September 2003 will detail final changes to the rules to accommodate effective participation in PAP. A suggestion to change the Oath of Office taken by incoming Members is also being considered as this would provide for affirmation of loyalty to the concept of the AU. The Steering Committee is to be chaired by Dr Ginwala. A resolution was made at the Maputo Summit that the incoming chairperson be mandated to decide when and where PAP’s permanent seat will be.

Mr Kebeni invited questions from the floor.

Questions & Answers
Q: Are there discussions within the ANC to increase the number of Permanent Members in the NCOP?
A: Any change would be an amendment to the Constitution, but several MP’s had made reference to this issue. The ANC was discussing it and the new Parliament of 2009 would have more delegates.

Q: Has there been any resolution regarding interference by courts and the internal workings. Please expand on these concerns.
A: Issues had arisen from a series of court cases involving Mr Cassiem’s floor-crossing. Whether or not he had been correctly expelled was a matter for the court and its decision was accepted. Mr Cassiem was then reinstated and then later elected as Chairperson of Committees. Parties were then asked as to whether or not to retain Mr Cassiem.

Q: Where will PAP be located? Is South Africa the only country to have indicated willingness to host PAP as its permanent seat? Regarding SALGA’s participation in the NCOP, will all municipalities be represented, and how many will participate?
A: Both South Africa and Libya have offered permanent seats to PAP. It was not clear whether countries had to wait for ratification before offering a permanent seat, and it was not featured on the Maputo agenda. Concerning SALGA, an additional ten delegates were sent to participate in concurrent function areas to articulate local government issues, but recently that number had decreased as SALGA had not taken on the part model. A number of concerning issues were raised at a recent workshop on budget consideration. These pertained to the national policy impact on the functioning of local government. If these concerns had been made known, they would have been addressed.

Q: How will the funding for Committees improve the nature of the structures themselves and assist with scheduling?
A: Funding would be dedicated to software for the logistics of communication. There were too many Committees. Integrated policies and development programmes were necessary and this could not be achieved if issues were debated separately and then brought together. Integration must happen at a conceptual level. Committees could not be treated equally because some had larger legislative burdens than others. In 2004 there should be better consideration of the functioning in terms of expenditure. Since 1994, Parliament had had a policy of inclusivity and always encouraged full participation, but now it was difficult to reach quorum in meetings and conduct proper discussion because Committees were too large.

Q: What resourcing issues are to be addressed?
A: Political decisions must be taken with regard to resources. MP’s had raised this issue and there had been suggestions towards clustering, but this was difficult to manage and not very efficient.

Q: How much progress has been made with regard to the new code of ethics for Parliament?
A: A new draft code of conduct was being circulated in Parliament. No party had indicated its view on it as yet.

Q: Please expand on the allegations of illegal travel.
A: A number of court cases had followed as a result and one company had been liquidated. Others were threatening to sue. Travel was being facilitated without going to the companies involved. Parliament’s system should be looking at how to get its own system right for better correlation for investigation, which was still under way.

Appendix
PRESS BRIEFING NOTE ON PROGRAMME OF PARLIAMENT
8 September 2003
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

The third and fourth terms are going to be busy periods for the National Council of Provinces. Work in several areas will be focused upon:

1. Legislation
There are several Bills in the domain of concurrent functions which will form the basis of ongoing interaction between Parliament and provincial legislatures. Of significance among Bills before Parliament are the draft Bill on traditional leaders, the health Bill, the draft social development Bills, the two education Bills and the recently tabled Electoral Laws Amendment Bill.

There is a lot of legislation before Select committees. There are four Section 76 and three Section 75 Bills. There are also fourteen Section 75 and three S76 Bills which are before the National Assembly.

In respect of both the Powers and Privileges and the Financial Management of Parliament and Legislatures Bills, Parliament is still to finalise the Bills for introduction

We hope that these two Bills will be introduced in Parliament before the end of the fourth term.

2. Committee work
There are a number of reports that will be tabled for consideration. These include the following:

Section 106 investigations - National Council has received notification of several 8 investigations into Municipalities in terms of Section 106 of the Systems Act

Report of Select Committee on Land and Agriculture - this is a report on the work done by MPs in their provinces during the June provincial week. The report shows that there is progress in the area of land and agricultural reform in spite of some challenges, for example, relating to the procedures in respect of financing by the Land Bank.

Human Rights Commission 4^th Economic & Social Rights Report 2002-03 -The report is currently before the following Select Committees on: Social Services, Security and Constitutional Affairs, Land and Environmental Affairs and Education and Recreation the committees have held preliminary hearings on the report and are still to report to the House.

3. International visits and international conferences
September 2003 - incoming high-level delegation from the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, led by the President of the Senate Dr Petr Pithart.


October 2003 - incoming high level delegation of the Chinese Peoples' Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), led by the Deputy Chairperson of the CPPCC leader Mr Zhang Huaixi.


4. Developments in the National Council of Provinces over the seven years of its existence
A lot of work has been done to try and document the development of the National Council of Provinces since its establishment.


Reports and reviews – Speeding Transformation (National Council of Provinces’ role in the Oversight Process), National Council of Provinces 1996 – 1999 in review. The Imperative of Co-operative Governance, Oversight function of the National Council of Provinces, Towards better co-operative Government

Books - research is being concluded towards the publication of a book on The Emerging

Role of the NCOP as a House of Parliament

The publications provide a useful record of the National Council of Provinces.

5. Further programmes
5.1 Video conferencing

In an endeavor to broaden participation we are currently investigating the use of video conferencing to promote and broaden provincial participation.

5.2 African Capacity Building Foundation
At 12:30 tomorrow, September 9 the Presiding Officers will sign an agreement which will put in place a support programme for Parliament. The agreement is between the African Capacity Building Foundation and the Parliament of South Africa. The funding commitment by ACBF amounts to US $l.85million over 4 years. Implementation of the programme is expected to begin from the life of the new Parliament.

5.3 EU Parliamentary Support Programme
Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures have concluded a feasibility study into the desirability and focus of a new Parliamentary Support Programme. The final report and the funding proposal have been submitted to the European Union and we are awaiting the outcome of this process.

6. Promoting public participation
The National Council of Provinces is set to continue with the programme of 'Taking Parliament to the People". The programme provides us with the opportunity of ensuring that we reach those people who would otherwise never have had an opportunity to participate in our democratic processes.

We are also exploring better ways of making use of community media to communicate the business of the National Council of Provinces.

7. Oversight mechanisms and ongoing challenges
There are certain gaps that we need to close. Firstly, we need as a matter of urgency to look at the impact of the Constitution of the RSA Amendment Act 21 of 2002 (Crossing the floor legislation) on the National Council of Provinces. The National Council of Provinces had to reconstitute itself earlier this year as a result of the impact of this legislation. This was not an intended consequence.

Secondly, we need to develop and finalise legislation on a uniform procedure for the conferring of mandates by Provincial Legislatures

Thirdly, the National Council of Provinces must improve the participation of local government, in particular with regard to those issues or legislation that impact on municipalities.

Fourthly, we need to look at the composition of the National Council of Provinces. The limited number of Members in charge of the work of the Council hampers our ability to effectively execute our mandate. Fifty-four Permanent Members for the National Council of Provinces is not enough to deal with the work that this country and Parliament requires. Having said this, I must also at the same time commend the Members for their dedication and hard work.