Speaker, the chairperson of the portfolio committee has outlined the role of the HSRC board, but the DA would like to use this opportunity to raise a few matters of concern.
First of all, the contracts of members serving on the board expired on October 2008 and owing to parliamentary delays, the matter was only referred to the Speaker for consideration on 15 April 2009, by which time the third Parliament had already risen.
Was it a case of passing the buck or a case of the failure of Parliament to do its oversight work efficiently? The x-criterion for representivity was initially not applied, and the department noted these concerns and came back with a more representative list.
Some of the qualifications of the shortlisted candidates do not comply in the strictest sense with the requirements as stipulated in the Act. Questions for the Minister to consider when making her final choice are: What value do persons who serve on a wide range of boards add? Does such a board member have time to do justice to the task at hand or might not a possible conflict of interest arise?
The DA also asks the Minister to consider it very carefully when appointing members who have served on other boards and whose performance has been questionable. Last, but not least, the Minister should guard against political appointments.
The portfolio committee has made specific recommendations both to Parliament in respect of its oversight, and to the Minister to review legislation regarding the processes leading to the appointment of members of the board. We sincerely hope that this matter will be properly addressed, and urgently.
In conclusion, the DA wants to place on record its appreciation to the current board for agreeing to stay on despite the end of its term, and wishes the new board well in its deliberations. [Applause.]