Deputy Speaker, government does not have any money of its own; it all belongs to the people. The people should therefore have a voice in what happens to their money.
Although our Constitution provides for Parliament to establish procedures to amend money Bills, the enabling legislation was not pursued. Parliament has, for several years, not been empowered to influence the application of economic policy significantly. Three important aspects must be considered in evolving a system to cater for public interaction with the important process of resource allocation, and they are as follows: the overall economic policy objective must remain in focus; fiscal prudence must be maintained; and an expert understanding of how changes that are proposed will impact on the economy is required.
The fiscal framework forms the core around which macroeconomic policy is developed. It gives effect to government's macroeconomic policy and includes an estimate of financial expectations. This fiscal framework and revenue proposals must be referred to the finance committees of the National Assembly and the NCOP. Committees must then conduct joint public hearings. This will provide an opportunity for participants to grasp the overall economic policy objective and the numbers involved.
The fiscal framework budgetary allocation to government departments and the division of revenue between different spheres of government will be subject to scrutiny and input at parliamentary public hearings. When amending the fiscal framework, a money Bill or when taking any decision in terms of the Act, Parliament and its committees must take various factors relating to fiscal responsibility into consideration. These factors include those measures that ensure that fiscal prudence is maintained. In particular, debt levels and interest costs must be reasonable. Fiscal prudence sometimes appears to be in the eye of the beholder, and it may be necessary to clarify what "reasonable" actually means.
Although the Bill boosts parliamentary oversight and opens the process of national budgeting to public influence, it will be important to ensure that we do not evolve a system where our scarce resources are allocated on the basis of who screams the loudest. If this happens, the noise will be amplified everywhere and the sight of overall economic objectives will be lost.
To ensure meaningful participation, information is required. Parliament must boost this capacity by creating a budget office that will assist committees and Members of Parliament with research and expertise. This office must be technical and not political in nature.
The Bill provides for a coherent focus, maintenance of fiscal prudence and the provision of expertise. The DA supports it. Thank you.