Consideration of Committee Minutes

Meeting report

PUBLIC WORKS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
10 November 2004
CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE MINUTES

Chairperson: Mr F Bhengu (ANC)

Documents handed out:
19 October 2004 Committee minutes
25 October 2004 Committee minutes
27 October 2004 Committee minutes
2 November 2004 Committee minutes
(email [email protected] for documents)

SUMMARY
The Committee met to consider four recent Committee minutes prepared by the Committee's secretary and these were adopted with some amendments. Follow-up was made on how far the Committee's two cluster groups (the financial cluster and the non-financial cluster) had progressed in providing recommendations on the implementation of the Extended Public Works Programme.

MINUTES
19 October 2004 minutes
The Chairperson stated that the use of the word "warned" under observations with regard to the MEC and the Committee was inappropriate and suggested that "raised a concern" would be more appropriate. The Committee had the right to ask anyone to attend a meeting, to answer questions or provide information.

Mr J Blanche (DA) asked how the sentence should be adjusted to improve comprehension.

The Chairperson replied that only one MEC was involved. Discussions had been held with legal advisors regarding the inviting of individuals to attend meetings and the Committee was entitled to do so. The issue revolved around the role of the NCOP. The Committee secretary would rephrase the sentence.

Mr Blanche proposed that the minutes be accepted with the necessary amendment.

25 October 2004 minutes
The Chairperson referred to the issue around PMG minutes that had appeared in the media. PMG was mentioned at the previous meeting as taking notes but the PMG website referred to "Committee Minutes". A distinction had to be made between minutes and reporting so that the minutes of PMG were not perceived to be minutes of the Committee. PMG minutes did not form part of the Committee work. Acknowledgement was paid to the monitoring work of PMG in providing public information and broadening democracy.

Mr H Maluleka (ANC) asked whether the outstanding MECs had provided written submissions to the Committee as indicated.

The Committee secretary replied that letters had been sent to the MECs in question and only the Western Cape MEC had responded and it was now compiling its report. An ultimatum of the 8 November had been provided and no response from the remainder had been received.

Ms T Nwamitwa-Shilubana (ANC) asked for further detail on which provinces were outstanding.

The Chairperson stated that the minutes should include the list of outstanding MECs: the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng. The secretary would follow up the response from the Western Cape to secure a report before next week. The Committee's report would indicate that no response had been received.

Mr S Opperman (DA) asked why the Northern Cape was included in the list of outstanding MECs.

The Chairperson replied that only Kwazulu-Natal, North West and Free State were present at the meeting in question. The MEC of the Northern Cape was not represented at the meeting.

Mr Blanche asked whether the Chairperson of the Steering Committee did not represent the MEC of the Northern Cape.

The Chairperson responded that the Chairperson had made no input to the meeting regarding the position of the MEC. The Chairperson could not report on behalf of the MEC.

Mr H Maluleka (ANC) requested clarity on the leaked Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) report and what follow-ups had been made.

The Chairperson responded that the SCOPA report had been leaked to the media despite a request to Members to refrain from discussion until the issue had been resolved. A meeting with the Member in question would occur to close the issue. The popularisation of the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) was discussed and further meetings with the Department would be arranged. The clusters within the Committee would be providing strategies on enhancing the communication of the EPWP in collaboration with the Department. The Committee had to ensure that grassroots communities received adequate information on how the programme would be implemented. The cluster had to ascertain progress made by the Department before the final report was tabled and further meetings would be arranged.

Mr Opperman asked whether the timeframes of the Department had been adhered to.

Mr Blanche added that the targets of the Department should be included to assist in evaluating progress.

Mr Maduma (ANC) asked whether more than one Deputy Director General post was currently vacant as indicated by the minutes.

The Chairperson stated that two posts were currently vacant including asset management.

Mr Maluleka proposed that tape recordings of the meeting be made available to improve the content of the minutes and to reduce omissions.

The Chairperson agreed and reminded Members that a similar suggestion had been made previously. Discussions would be held with the Committee Secretariat. The report on the SCOPA hearings would be tabled on the 10 November 2004 and not October as indicated in the minutes.

Ms Nwamitwa-Shilubana asked whether the public hearings scheduled for the 23/24 November would still occur.

The Chairperson replied that the meetings were tentative but enough time remained to hold them before the end of November.

Mr Blanche asked whether assistance with plane tickets could be made available as allocations would have ended by then by then.

The Chairperson replied that provision would be made.

The minutes were adopted with amendments.

27 October 2004 minutes
Mr Maduma asked that he be included in the non-financial cluster as listed in the minutes.

The Chairperson stated that the reference to the Parliamentary Villages was confusing as the Board could not be constituted until the Resident's Committee had nominated a Board member. The Resident's Committee was not meeting and therefore delaying the process. The Department continued to send junior officials to Committee meetings with no mandate to expedite the process. The Board needs to be constituted as a matter of urgency to report back to the Committee. Apparently the Resident's Committee had met and a representative had been appointed to the Board. The outstanding matter was not, therefore, the co-operation of Members as indicated in the minutes.

Mr D Lewin (Public Works parliamentary officer) noted that the Board was meeting that day.

The minutes were adopted with amendments.

2 November 2004 minutes
The Chairperson stated that the minutes of the PMG would be referred to as notes within the Committee minutes. Members needed to acquire an understanding of the construction industry and concepts such as asset management and asset register. Training would be provided to achieve a deeper understanding of the broader industry. Meetings with the construction industry would be scheduled.

The Committee secretary replied that a meeting with the construction industry and the relevant SETA would occur on the 16 November.

Members wanted the meeting to be moved to the 17 November to allow for the scheduled Committee meeting to continue on the 16th as planned.

The Chairperson agreed that the meeting be moved to the 17 November.

Mr Blanche referred to the meetings scheduled for the 23/24 November and asked whether meetings with construction entities could be accommodated then.

The Chairperson stated that the details of the hearings would be finalised shortly but the meeting on the 17 November would continue. A BEE component should also be present at this meeting.

Mr Blanche stated that the reference to a fire in the Eastern Cape was confusing and needed rephrasing.

Ms Ramotsamai asserted that the paragraph referred to the issue of assets and the selling of land within the Eastern Cape. The minutes should refer to the ongoing debate involving the Minister over the future of the land in question. The Committee should remain a part of the debate.

Mr Maduma asked whether any meeting was planned with the Minister in the near future.

The Chairperson responded that a reply from the Minister would be forthcoming but uncertainty remained over what subject matter would be discussed.

Mr Blanche added that a report on the fire was needed to determine what records were lost and the nature of the fire.

The minutes were adopted with amendments.