Provincial Study Tour reports; Study Tour to India

Meeting report

HOUSING PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
23 MAY 2001
NORTHERN PROVINCE STUDY TOUR REPORT; STUDY TOUR TO INDIA

Chairperson: Ms N Hangana

Documents handed out:
Draft Portfolio Committee Report on study tour to the Northern Province
Committee reports on study tour to the Northern Cape

SUMMARY
The Committee spoke about its forthcoming tour to India and tabled two reports on previous tours undertaken by Committee members to the Northern Province and Northern Cape.

MINUTES
Tours
Only eight members from the committee will be part of the tour to India. On the Committee's previous tour (which was to Brazil) the minority party which went along was the UDM. This time the IFP will attend because of its consistency in attending meetings.

The Chairperson noted a problem of duplication regarding the tour to India. Apparently the Gauteng Provincial Committee on Housing has also undertaken a study on housing delivery to the poor in India. In future they should liaise with the different provinces on their envisaged tours for the year.

Habitat meeting of the United Nations
The Committee has been invited to a Habitat meeting of the United Nations in New York in 6-8 June. At this meeting South Africa is supposed to give a report on the progress made on housing delivery. A preliminary meeting was held in March this year where the National Department of Housing gave their report and Mr Schneemann (ANC) (as a member of the Portfolio Committee) attended the meeting.

The Chairperson noted regrettably that there had been no interaction between the Committee and the Department in concretising the report given. They had not sent an invitation to the Chairperson in connection with this particular meeting. The Committee was then informed that the Department does not pay costs for travelling or accommodation.

In light of these events the Portfolio Committee has made an urgent application to the Chief Whip in order not to be excluded from these important trips.

Northern Province Study Tour Report
Mr Schneemann of the ANC led the discussion on the report. The Chairperson noted that people in this province were selling the houses that are built from the subsidy from the government for far less than their actual costs and she will take up the matter with the Ministry of Housing.

Mr Skhosana said that the report should be circulated to members prior to any meeting so that they can participate meaningfully in Committee meetings. He understood that the Department of Housing had given R10 000 for each site on the Ramathlodi Park housing Project but this is not reflected in the report.

Ms. Hangana said committee clerk had sent out the draft report to members for comments but had not received them back for the final report. Delegates also come late for tours and some of them do not remain until the end of the tour in the provinces.

Mr A Singh (DP) said that it was a very unfair comment for Ms. Hangana to make and further stated that one cannot be expected to work the whole public holiday. He said that the trip was badly organised, people were informed two days before the tour and people from their constituencies believe that MPs are always making excuses for not attending to their queries.

The Chairperson argued that the organisers of the tour should not be accused of any wrong doing in this instance and members must learn to communicate with one another.

She went to say that members had agreed that the trip should be on a public holiday.

Mr Schneemann said the Northern Province is vast and on the last day of their visit only three members from the ANC were still available in the Province and this was very embarrassing. These study tours should also be regarded as constituency work. He pointed out that Mr Durandt from the NNP was supposed to be part of the delegation.

Ms. Hangana criticised the general trend of members: when it comes to overseas trips everybody is available and this shows some inconsistency. Nobody should leave a tour until the last day, she repeated.

Mr Durandt (NNP) said he fully agrees with the sentiments expressed in the Committee about attending tours properly. Travel arrangements were not made in time to make it possible for him to attend the tour. He suggested that MPs should be disciplined for not attending to their work.

Mr Singh said he was not blaming the Portfolio Committee for his mishaps but his party's predecessor for not fully briefing him on previous deliberations of the Committee as he was new to the committee.

Northern Cape Study Tour Report
Ms M Maine (ANC) asked the Committee for a postponement on the discussion because of some inaccuracies on the part of the report.

The meeting was adjourned.