The Select Committee on Finance was established in terms of section 4(3) of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act No.9 of 2009. Among its responsibilities, the Committee is required to consider and report on spending issues, and on actual expenditure published by the National Treasury. The Committee has adopted a tradition of inviting both National Treasury and the affected departments to account on government spending. This consultative approach gives the Committee an opportunity to interrogate departments on their spending with a view to identifying gaps and strengthening public spending.