Parliament’s first-ever attendance policy to be backed by strict sanctions

Parliament’s Joint Rules Committee (JRC) has finally adopted an attendance policy for its Members. The main objective of the policy is to set minimum standards and create obligations on Members for attendance and participation in parliamentary business. Although the Rules of Parliament will prevail over the attendance policy in a case of conflict, the policy applies to both Members of the National Assembly and Members of the National Council of Provinces.

The policy contains serious sanctions for absences. Agreed to by the Joint Whips Forum of 12 February 2014 and adopted by the JRC, the policy provides that if a Member is absent for 15 or more consecutive sitting days of the National Assembly or the NCOP, without the leave of the House, the accompanying sanction is a loss of his/her seat in Parliament. The policy also provides that if a Member is absent from three consecutive meetings of a Committee to which he/she is appointed as a full Member outside of a sanctioned absence agreed to by the Member’s political party, a sanction may be applied to the Member by either the NA or the NCOP to the effect of a fine of R1000 for each day of absence. In the case of the NCOP, if a Member is absent during a “three-line whip” without being on authorised leave in terms of the policy, sanctions may be applied to the Member of the NCOP.

Presiding over the JRC meeting on 5 March 2014, the NCOP Chairperson, Mr Mninwa Mahlangu reminded the Committee that the entire policy and its prescripts were subject to the Rules of Parliament, which were currently under review. This statement was in response to a question asked by a Democratic Alliance member investigating the effect of the Rules review process on the application of the attendance policy. The Secretary to the National Assembly, Mr Masibulele Xaso, said the policy was going to be operationalised by the rules. This meant the policy could be adopted in the meantime but would only be operationalised when the rules were in place.

The policy adopted by the JRC also provided for categories of leave, procedure for granting and periods of leave, record of leave applications and recourse for grievances in respect of the application of the policy.

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