1) Section 47(3)(b) of the Constitution provides that a person loses Membership of the Assembly if that person is "...absent from the Assembly without permission in circumstances for which the rules and orders of the Assembly prescribe loss of Membership". Section 62(4)(e) of the Constitution provides that a person ceases to be a member if that person "is absent from the National Council of Provinces without permission in circumstances for which the rules and orders of the Council prescribe loss of office as a permanent delegate. 2) Rule 20 of the Assembly provides for instances where a Member wants to be absent from sittings of the House or its committees for 15 or more consecutive sitting days, i.e a Member will need the Assembly's or Committee's approval. It does not, however, provide for loss of Membership or punitive measures should such approval not be sought or granted. 3) In terms of Rule 17 of the Council a person ceases to be a Permanent Delegate of the Council if that person is voluntarily and without leave absent from the Council for 15 consecutive sitting days. Furthermore, a Permanent Delegate seeking leave to be absent from the Council for 15 or more consecutive sitting days must apply for such leave from the Council. 4) The Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act, 1998 provides in section 3(5) that the payment of salaries and allowances of Members "...is subject to the rules and orders of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces". The Act therefore provides a legal basis for which deductions from Members' salaries for unauthorized absences from parliamentary work may be made to the extent that relevant rules are in place. 5) It is accepted that political parties are responsible for managing Members' leave and that a Member's absence from Parliament should be controlled by the political party which the Member represents. However, each Member has a dual responsibility - towards their political party and towards Parliament as an institution. 6) While it is emphasized that plenary sittings and committee meetings are the first priority of Members, the nature of their duties is such that it is essential that Members are entitled to be away from Parliament, with permission, to attend to their responsibilities to voters, their constituency, their party, interest groups and to represent Parliament at workshops, seminars and on local and overseas visits. 7) The multiplicity of activities in which Members are engaged makes it necessary for a simple yet effective policy to control the attendance of Members when Parliament is in session. This policy would therefore apply during Parliamentary sessions and any official activity, but not to recess periods for which holiday leave would be applicable. 8) This policy will not apply to instances where a House has, by resolution, imposed a sanction on a Member in terms of the suspension of the Member's privileges and right to a seat in parliamentary debates or committees. 9) While in the National Assembly political parties and in the Council the Chief Whip of the Council after consultation with political parties regulate the leave of their Members, it is done against certain minimum standards that are required in terms of attendance of Members at plenary and committee meetings. The ensuring of attendance at plenary and committee meetings continues to be a principal function for political parties. Whips from the various political parties should be responsible for ensuring adequate representation at all plenary and other official activities of Parliament. 10) As a general principle political parties in the Assembly and the Chief Whip of the Council in the Council have an obligation to ensure that: i. Parliament is able to function by taking decisions as required; and ii. Members are present at committee, forum and plenary meetings and that failure to do so may result in sanction being imposed on a Member, however a collective decision by a political party to break quorum by withholding their participation at such meeting is excluded from this general provision. 11) It should be borne in mind that in the Assembly political parties and in the Council the Chief Whip of the Council after consultation with political parties largely regulate the leave of their Members up to 15 days, however, according to the rules of the Assembly and the Council after 15 or more consecutive days the leave of the house must be obtained to condone further absence. 12) Attendance in Parliament includes the obligation to fulfill the duties imposed upon Members by the Constitution and the rules of the House. A Member cannot excuse himself or herself from attending a plenary session or committee meeting when attendance is made compulsory by standing or other orders. Therefore Parliament should have an enforceable attendance policy which allows for non-attendance by Members as specified in the Rules. 13) Minimum standards regarding absence should be set to allow Parliament to impose sanctions for Members as contemplated in the Constitution. 14) In this regard the provisions of the Constitution (sections 53 and 65) which provide respectively the quorum requirements for decisions to be taken by the Assembly and Council may be used to provide a minimum standard for attendance in terms of plenary sessions. 15) The Constitution also requires special majorities for decisions on the following: i. Extension of state of emergency; ii. Amendments to the Constitution; iii. A question to be decided in terms of section 75 of the Constitution in the Council; iv. Section 76 bills rejected by the Council; v. Bills changing the seat of Parliament; vi. Removal of the President; vii. Motions of no confidence in the President or Cabinet; viii. Removal of judges; ix. Appointment and removal of Members of Human Rights Commission, Commission for Gender Equality, Electoral Commission, Auditor-General and Public Protector; x. Appointment and removal of certain Members of the Public Service Commission, and xi. Inspector to monitor intelligence services. 16) When decisions of this nature are to be taken a "three-line-whip" approach which would involve a strict instruction to attend and vote issued by the respective political parties in the case of the Assembly or Chief Whip of the Council in the case of the Council should be applicable. 17) Committees play a vital role in the parliamentary process and assist the respective houses in performing their constitutional functions. Committees may be appointed to deal with two main areas of work: the work of Parliament (legislation and oversight) and Parliament's internal arrangements and procedures. While committees may proceed with their business regardless of a quorum being present they would require a quorum before any decision could be taken. In Assembly committees a quorum would be the majority of Members of the committee while in Council committees a quorum is dependent on the matter on which a decision is being taken i.e. in certain instances it will be based on the number of Members of the committee, but in the case of matters that impact on the provinces decisions are taken on the basis of provincial mandates. 18) If there is a conflict between this policy, rules and standing orders of the Houses, the rules and standing order of the Council and the Assembly, respectively, shall prevail. 3. PURPOSE OF THE POLICY
