Oversight Report of visit to the Western Cape

Meeting report

Committee Report on budget vote of Department of Human Settlements
The Chairperson provided a summary of the report, noting that Members continued to complain about the lack of co-ordination between departments even though a policy had been established in 2004 on this matter. Members should therefore accept some of the responsibility for not following up on these issues. The Committee had requested that there should be an alignment between the Department of Human Settlement and the President’s State of the Nation Address. In his address, President Zuma had announced that there would be upgrades done in the informal settlements, however the budget that was allocated to the Department would make it difficult to achieve this The Department together with the provincial departments had met and adopted the report on Programme Ratification. They wanted to present the report to the Committee before Monday, 19 April 2010.

Ms M Borman (ANC) suggested that the presentation be scheduled for 16 April 2010.

Mr R Mdakane (ANC) proposed the next day instead as 16 April 2010 fell on a Friday and Members had a lot of commitments on Fridays.

The Chairperson agreed with Mr Mdakane and reminded Members that they had agreed that they would not have meetings on a Friday.

The Committee agreed to meet with them the next day. At the same time, it was decided that the Committee would adopt its report on the Department’s budget vote at that meeting.

Consideration of the Western Cape Oversight Report
The Chairperson asked the Committee to check if there was anything that had been omitted in the Report as it had been thoroughly edited.

The Committee spent more time concentrating on the observations, challenges the delegates faced during the visits and their recommendations concerning those observations and challenges.

Mr M Figlan (DA) wanted clarity as to why the unfinished and dangerously built houses in Beaufort West and Mossel Bay were not mentioned in the Report.

The Chairperson agreed that this information should have been included in the report. She also suggested that they had to add under recommendations that service sites that were not developed in some areas that they were to be developed.

Mr Mdakane addressed three issues. Firstly, he believed that reference to ASLA Contractors should be removed from the report as the allegations against the company were based on hearsay and had not been investigated. Secondly, he felt that the report should be comprehensive in order for the public to understand all the issues contained in it. Thirdly, he advised the Committee Secretary to use full names and put abbreviations in brackets as most of the public did not know the meaning of those abbreviations.

The Chairperson recommended that Mossel Bay had to be monitored quarterly (concerning its challenges) and that the land Report in Knysna is forwarded to the Minister of Human Settlement, Mr Tokyo Sexwale.   

The recommendations were accepted and the Report was duly adopted with amendments.

Outstanding Minutes
The Chairperson tabled two outstanding minutes for consideration. The minutes were dated 3 March and 17 March 2010. The former was adopted without amendments while the latter was adopted with amendments.

Committee Programme for Second-Term
The Committee approved its programme for the second-term without any changes.

The meeting was adjourned.