Hon Deputy Speaker, hon Acting President, hon Speaker, hon members and comrades, firstly, I would like to address the hon Mike Ellis on the issue he has just raised in terms of questions, allocation time for questions and the programme of Parliament. The hon Ellis is a member of the programming committee of the National Assembly where the programme of this House is decided, including the time allocated for questions. He is also a member of the Chief Whips' Forum. I don't know how, then, the hon Ellis could come here and complain about those issues because there are forums in which he can raise those issues. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Secondly, I also want to address the hon Sam Shilowa on the question he raised with the Leader of Government Business. I just want to tell him that the Leader of Government Business is also a member of the programming committee. If he was a member of that committee, he would have witnessed this today, because the Acting President was at the programming committee meeting, but unfortunately he was not.
Thirdly, on the issue of oversight and how the committees should deal with the reports of the departments and Chapter 9 institutions, the committees themselves have to strategise, programme and cost those programmes in terms of the resources the committees have. I would appeal to him to raise those issues at the committee level.
On 26 June 1955, the Congress of the People in Kliptown declared that, I quote:
There shall be peace and friendship!
South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation - not war. The right of all peoples of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognised, and shall be the basis of close co-operation.
As the Speaker has already said, international participation is a core function of Parliament. The Joint Rules Committee has agreed that the Parliamentary Group on International Relations, PGIR, should be revived to consider legacy and other issues that relate to international matters. The letters have already been sent to political parties to submit names of their members who will be serving in the PGIR, but unfortunately only one political party has responded.
The PGIR, as a substructure of the Joint Rules Committee, is the vehicle through which strategic and policy impetus to Parliament's international participation can be provided. It is also this body that will assess and make recommendations on how the matters raised in international forums that Parliament is affiliated to and participates in are discussed and relayed to the citizens of South Africa.
We will also set up focus groups as substructures of the PGIR. These focus groups will encompass the following affiliated multilateral bodies: the Inter-Parliamentary Union - Mr Ellis; the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum; the Pan-African Parliament; the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association; the African, Caribbean, Pacific-European Union; and the Association for the Educational and Cultural Advancement of African People.
The size of these groups will be influenced by the multilateral body they represent and whether the delegates are appointed by the House for the duration of the parliamentary term or on an ad hoc basis for each activity of the multilateral body. Each focus group will meet at least four times a year in accordance with the programme of the work of its multilateral body.
The purpose of setting up focus groups will be the following. The group will analyse the work of the particular body and guide Parliament's engagement with that body. The group will assess and evaluate reports of delegation meetings of the body as well as identify matters which require further follow-up by Parliament. The group will embark on information- sharing initiatives for members on the work of affiliated multilateral bodies.
We will further establish friendship groups. These groups will be utilised to pursue bilateral relations. The approach will be based on the geographical regions.
Now and again there are agreements and protocols that we have to ratify as Parliament, but as Parliament we don't do oversight and monitoring of them. Members also attend and participate in international forums, and resolutions in the form of communiqus are taken, but Parliament does not monitor the implementation of those resolutions.
The President, in his state of the nation address, said that as Parliament we needed to do oversight. Therefore, as Parliament we need to monitor and oversee all resolutions taken by international forums. Each group needs to discuss and table the report in Parliament for each to be debated and adopted. For example, at the beginning of July there was a Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum, the communiqu of which was agreed upon, and I believe that Parliament needs to discus that communiqu. Also, in the middle of July, there will be a CPA conference, and Parliament, I believe, should discuss the agenda of that conference so that the people who attend that conference have a mandate from this Parliament.
As Parliament we can participate in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the CPA, as a branch. Therefore, we need to have a branch meeting in order to elect the executive. I urge all hon members to attend that branch meeting since all Members of Parliament are members of the CPA branch. We also need to elect the executive of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, the CWP, before the CPA conference in July.
Issues on international travelling were raised, namely that members should travel business class when travelling for more than two hours, and subsistence and travel allowances. The matters were discussed in the previous Parliament and discussed further with the House Chairperson on internal arrangements in order to do a follow-up with the Parliamentary Oversight Authority. Members will be kept abreast about developments on these matters.
We are going to develop a policy on public education and public participation in international and national matters. At the present moment, as Parliament, we have the programme of the people's Assembly, of "Taking Parliament to the People" by the NCOP, and of Youth and Women's Parliaments.
We also need to consider allowing committees to hold their meetings outside Parliament and come up with a way in which the public can positively contribute in those committee meetings.
During the third Parliament, three parliamentary democracy offices were established and we need to check how often the public utilises them. Sadly, in this current financial year, we won't be able to allow friendship groups to travel internationally owing to the budgetary constraints, but the Parliamentary Group on International Relations will meet to strategise and prioritise the countries for bilaterals and multilaterals depending on the availability of funds. I want to appeal to hon members, particularly the Chief Whips of political parties, to send through the names of the members who are going to serve in the PGIR as soon as possible.
Finally, I want to thank the management and staff, and believe they will take up all the issues raised here so that we can continue with the work of Parliament. As you have said, together we can do more. Thank you, hon members. [Applause.]