The framework for consideration of the strategic plans, the APPs and the budget involved separate briefing sessions for the Department and the ITB. Mechanisms for consideration of the plans and budget involved review of the Committee reports on the Department's quarterly expenditure trends for the 2011/12 financial year, analysis of the APP of the Department and ITB against the Strategic Plan 2011 - 2014 (the strategic plan) and the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). The Committee located the process of considering the strategic plan and budget within the broader role of Parliament to ensure that the Department accounts for its planning process towards achieving the vision of creating vibrant, equitable, sustainable rural communities. During this process, the Committee sought to assess whether objectives and strategies of the Department articulated in the Strategic plan and the APP address the priorities of government articulated in the MTSF, that resources were adequately allocated, and that there was adequate capacity to enable delivery on its mandate. The Committee's deliberations critically explored the policy provisions for the sustainable programmes of land reform and rural development, especially the Green Paper on Land Reform which, once approved as a White Paper, would provide a direction for implementing the land reform programme and could be utilized as an oversight instrument to assess whether the Department is delivering on its mandate.