Hon Deputy Speaker, the Constitution of our country devotes no less than 26 out of 136 pages to the role of Parliament, which means that the critical role of Parliament takes up more than 20% of our Constitution. The intention of the drafters of the Constitution was clearly to give significant centrality to the role of Parliament in our constitutional democracy.
As Cope, we hold the view that Parliament, especially the National Assembly, has to fulfil the crucial role of exercising oversight responsibility over the executive in accordance with section 55(2) of the Constitution, and I quote:
2. The National Assembly must provide for mechanisms -
a. to ensure that all executive organs of state in the national sphere of government are accountable to it; and
b. to maintain oversight of -
i. the exercise of national executive authority, including the implementation of legislation; and ii. any organ of state.
Therefore, Cope is of the opinion that Parliament, like Chapter 9 institutions, should be adequately resourced to enable it to fulfil this constitutional responsibility with the necessary diligence. [Interjections.]
Constitutionally, the National Assembly should be providing a national forum for public consideration of issues. But more importantly, it should be able to keep Cabinet Ministers, and the departments that report to them, accountable to the nation and the electorate.
Deputy Speaker, the role of portfolio committees in the oversight function of Parliament cannot be overemphasised. Unfortunately, notwithstanding a growing parliamentary bureaucracy, portfolio committees still do not have the necessary support services in respect of sufficient research capacity.
The implication of not having additional research capacity is that portfolio committees cannot, like their counterparts in some of the established democracies of the world, conduct comparative research into and analysis of government reports and annual strategic plans. Thus the quality of debate in committees and in the National Assembly is being weakened, which is not conducive to effective oversight of the executive - our clear constitutional responsibility.
The question is whether portfolio committees have the capacity to conduct follow-up investigations on departmental weaknesses exposed by Scopa in past years. The recently released diagnostic report of the Planning Commission highlighted serious shortcomings in departmental service delivery, which should have been exposed by committees of the National Assembly. To quote but one phrase from the diagnostic report, it stated that:
In some areas, constitutional and legal provisions have not been fully implemented; in others, there has been a lack of sustained and effective focus.
The report also finds that:
South Africa needs to provide opportunities to all, yet historical disadvantages continue to have an adverse effect on tens of millions of citizens. This is particularly true in education and employment, which the commission has identified as the most pressing challenges facing the country.
Deputy Speaker, the time has also come for us to evaluate our procedures and rules of debate. In some respects, we believe that the National Assembly has not created a national forum for debate and public consideration of these and other national issues.
The House operates on the basis of a set agenda which is recycled from year to year to meet ceremonial, procedural and mechanistic requirements rather than the exigencies of the time. Hon Deputy Speaker, the National Assembly needs to reintroduce the annual no confidence debate and the weekly interpellations.
The Speaker has the opportunity and also the responsibility to assist the National Assembly to provide the kind of leadership that will allow the principle of responsible government to prevail in our country. Without strong parliamentary oversight the executive in any democracy can become a law unto itself. It has to be made fully accountable to this House as the Constitution requires.
Cope believes that all political parties should hold hands to ensure that Parliament is enabled to fulfil its constitutional responsibility, in order to ensure that we live up to the expectations of the nation. Cope supports this Budget Vote. Thank you.