Election of Chairperson

Meeting report

The Stand-In Committee Secretary, Mr Masixole Zibeko, introduced himself and opened the meeting.

He indicated that the purpose of the meeting was to elect a Chairperson in terms of NA Rules 158

He requested Members to nominate a Chairperson.

Ms C Phiri (ANC) nominated Mr R Dyantyi (ANC) as Chairperson.

Mr B Yabo (ANC) supported the nomination.

Mr Zibeko asked if Mr Dyanty accepted the nomination

Mr R Dyantyi (ANC) said he accepted the nomination.

Mr Zibeko asked if there were additional nominations.

There were no further hands.

Mr Zibeko congratulated Mr Dyantyi on his appointment as Chairperson.

Ms S Graham (DA) sought clarity on the composition of the Committee.

Mr Zibeko explained that they had received the ATC, which included 9 Members. Subsequently, that allows the committee to proceed. The Committee needed 6 Members to proceed and currently, there were seven members in the meeting. Other Members from various parties would join the Committee at a later stage.

The Chairperson welcomed all present at the meeting. He did not know if Mr Zibeko was going to be the permanent secretary or just an acting secretary. The Committee had a rocky start. The Committee received notice of the meeting quite late and also started late. This was unacceptable. The next meeting would have to be done properly with all Members present. He wanted all Members to start from the same page. He noted that three people wanted to speak. He intended to have a session with the support in order to plan properly.

Mr J McGluwa (DA) congratulated the Chairperson and said it was an endless struggle since 1999 to create a Committee of this nature. He hoped the Members would have a good working relationship. Their work is cut out for them. He hoped their work in terms of oversight will bear the necessary fruit.

Mr Z Mbhele (DA) congratulated the Chairperson. He asked whether both Ministers (Ramokgopas) and Minister Ntshavheni would be reporting and accounting to the Committee as there was confusion on reporting and alignment with the Portfolio Committee system.

The Chairperson requested that he be allowed to have the meeting with the support staff as this engagement would set the tone and explain everything so they don’t do things piecemeal. This would be answered at a later stage and the Committee would be informed on the scope and the role of the Committee.

Ms Nomvula Giba, Acting Senior Manager in the Committee’s Section, congratulated the Chairperson. She apologised for all the issues that took place in arranging the meeting. She said Parliament was going through a transition to the digital migration phase and some laptops were not working well. In future, all notices would go out on time. The Committee is working on finding a stand-in Committee Secretary until it finds someone to fill the position permanently. The process is underway and Mr Zibeko would be working as the stand-in Committee Secretary for the time being.

The Chairperson thanked Members for attending the meeting. He requested that he be allowed to do proper work and they will indicate the next meeting and all the necessary things that need to be done to ensure the first proper meeting is a proper one.

The meeting was adjourned.