Madam Deputy Speaker, we are certainly overworking you today!
I would like to thank hon House Chairperson Frolick for having addressed some of the questions that had been raised and also for giving us the information that he has. He has answered all the questions that were asked. He even answered the ones that were not asked as yet!
Let me begin with the concern raised by the Chief Whip of the Opposition, namely that the House does not discuss matters of national importance. The question, of course, is who determines, and what the Rules provide. Section 42 of the Constitution provides that Parliament, as a representative of the people, should provide a national forum for public consideration of issues. This means that Parliament should afford the electorate a platform for public discourse.
The usual procedures through which the National Assembly will programme matters of national importance for discussion is that members propose subjects for discussion by way of Notices of Motion when an opportunity to do so arises during a sitting of the House.
The Notices are then discussed at the Chief Whips' Forum and scheduled for discussion by the National Assembly Programming Committee. Given their importance, I urge members to continue to propose debates and work through the relevant parliamentary structures to consider programming them on a more frequent basis. In other words, it should not be a hit-or-miss arrangement.
Now, in considering whether a matter of public interest should be scheduled for debate, there is established criteria which include, amongst others, one, that the subject of the matter must not be sub judice, and two, that no other immediate opportunity should be available to tackle the matter in the near future.
Recently, I might add, I have accepted a matter for debate on youth unemployment and the implementation of a youth wage subsidy to be placed on the programme. [Applause.] However, I would like to urge parties to work together to find space in the programme for such issues. It should not be just something that people wake up feeling they want to debate. It should be in the programme. That is what Parliament is about; it is about rules and procedures. [Applause.]
I also asked that members place issues before the Rules committee so that the Rules may be amended to achieve what the members want. If the Rules don't provide for it, let's change the Rules to make sure that the Rules provide for what Parliament requires.
Hon Mulder raised the issue of the relevance of Parliament to the people that we serve. I agree with the sentiments expressed. Let me reiterate what I said earlier. The challenge facing parliaments in all parts of the world is one of continuous evolution-ensuring that we respond strategically and effectively to our people's changing and growing needs.
As part of the overall review of the Rules of the House that I have called for, I would like to ask members to think creatively and to make proposals on how we respond to the changing needs of our people and the challenges of the 21st century.
I have noted with concern the issues raised by hon Dudley, and I will ask the administration for a report on the matter. It is unacceptable that Members of Parliament are hampered in their functioning by inefficient administration. [Applause.]
On the issue of vacant posts, we have agreed with the administration to arrange a special session to discuss how to address the matter. I might add that these are not merely vacant posts; these are funded vacant posts. So this is clearly a matter of concern, because you cannot have a situation where there are funded vacant posts, and there is a demand for the filling of those vacancies, but nothing seems to happen. So we clearly have to put this on the agenda for special discussion so that it is addressed once and for all.
With regard to the issue of the Parliamentary Group on International Relations, PGIR, raised by the hon Kalyan, I have met with Mrs Hajaig to discuss the importance of the PGIR meeting monthly. I am expecting the functioning of the PGIR to improve dramatically in future. I am aware of the challenges and I can assure members that the challenges have been addressed.
Hon members also raised the infrequency of meetings of the National Assembly Joint Rules Committees. Let me correct you on this matter. The National Assembly and the Joint Rules Committee meet quarterly and we have a set programme for the rest of the year. The next meeting of the NA Rules Committee will be held on 6 June and that of the Joint Rules Committee on 31 July. When we say quarterly, it means four times a year. You cannot have it more than four times a year if it is quarterly! And this is in our Rules. It is quarterly - four times a year! [Laughter.]
I also wish to correct the hon members and say that the Quarterly Consultative Forum, QCF, reports to the Parliamentary Oversight Authority, POA, and not to the Joint Rules Committee. Indeed, the QCF has been reporting to the POA on a regular basis, as expected. There are other issues that I would like to touch on very briefly. We agree with the view expressed by hon Koos van der Merwe regarding future planning for Parliament. As part of our recent study tour of the European Parliament, we engaged ideas on future planning scenarios. This is a matter I would like to take forward in the coming months.
I think hon Frolick has addressed the issue of tickets for those who are about to retire. It is an issue that is also receiving our attention. We do recognise that it is a bit of a problem when members of the executive have thirty-something tickets while retiring members like Mr Van der Merwe and I will only get four tickets. So it is clearly in our interest, Mr Van der Merwe, that we do address this issue. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Now, concerning capacity and support for members, I acknowledged in my speech and at many other fora that capacity support for members indeed remains an ongoing challenge. We are addressing the matter within the context of national resource constraints. We will continue to appoint new staff, reskill existing staff, and provide training programmes and training courses for Members of Parliament. In fact, I have said at a number of fora that, because Members of Parliament are getting younger, we will, at some point, have to consider making sure that attending school is compulsory, because you can't address Bills if you can't read or understand them. So in future, it is going to be compulsory. Training and going back to school is going to be compulsory for Members of Parliament, particularly young Members of Parliament. [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
Implementation of the oversight model is an issue that has been raised. Let me try to touch on this briefly. The primary objective of an oversight body of an organisation is to oversee the work of the accounting officer as he or she fulfills his or her management responsibilities by providing advice on the adequacy of internal controls and management practices based on a systematic and independent review. Within this context the Parliamentary Oversight Authority was established.
As I already indicated in my speech earlier, the proposed oversight mechanism in the Act duplicates some of the roles of the POA. Research and engagements with other parliaments indicate that these kinds of structures are established as substructures of the main structure for the purpose of delegating some of the work to them. For example, in the case of the UK Parliament, structures such as the finance and service committee, the administration committee, the management board, and the administration, estate and audit committees were composed to augment the House of Commons Commission. These are thus subcommittees of the House of Commons Commission. In New Zealand a review committee was established to augment the work of the Parliamentary Service Commission. In other words, these are substructures. This was the case in the past in our Parliament, because the Rules provided for a Joint Subcommittee on the Parliamentary Budget, which had oversight and monitored the implementation of Parliament's budget.
We therefore need to review this when we go back to the Rules. We need to ask what the best mechanism is. It should not be something that is just automatic. We like the name and so do I, but we need to know what it is that we want to put in place. Therefore, we need to take this again for further discussion to the POA so that we all have a common understanding and are also able to move in the same direction. It is always difficult as a group to move in different directions, but we try to move in the same direction and with some accelerated speed.
Finally, because it is a bit late in the day, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has contributed and made proposals and suggestions. These have been taken note of and I am aware that these are many issues that we need to take forward to the appropriate structures and fora, but I would like to thank you all for your active participation, for your suggestions and for making sure that this continues to be a truly democratic Parliament of the people.
Finally, Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank you. I know we have overworked you. You'll be happy to hear that this brings me to the end of my contribution. Good evening and thank you very much. [Applause.]