Deputy Speaker, hon Speaker, members of the executive, and distinguished members, it is a great pleasure and honour to participate in this debate on Budget Vote No 2 - Parliament, especially during Youth Month.
Having listened to members speaking here, I want to indicate that the ANC noted the need for legislatures to exercise their oversight responsibility more comprehensively, by holding government departments and other organs of state accountable for both financial and nonfinancial performance. It is the ANC that noted that.
It further notes the role of Parliament in ensuring that it passes legislation that furthers the transformation of all state institutions, including Parliament itself.
It is through this that one of our conferences resolved to support the need for all legislatures to improve their capacity to exercise their constitutional oversight role by providing them with adequate resources and building the capacity of all Members of Parliament.
We would like, from the outset, to support the strategic objectives related to strengthening the oversight capacity of the legislature, as pronounced by the Speaker today, including the introduction of the oversight model. We however, would like to warn against protracted implementation that might render the objective a paper intention without actual results.
Management and control systems in place need to be strengthened to allow equity in awarding bursaries and scholarships for members. It should be made mandatory for members to enrol in a course to further their knowledge or improve their capacity in the area of their deployment. If resources are a challenge, we recommend that a proportional allocation should be made.
It should be made mandatory for new members to undergo a thorough induction workshop, presented by qualified practitioners, not as is happening now, where we get a walk-over document that is currently done by staff members. We need to professionalise this institution, so that it is attractive to everybody who wants to participate in nation-building.
We believe that if members' capacity is strengthened, their work of overseeing the departments and other organs will be strengthened and will be productive.
We also believe that orientation and induction of new members of the executive on how Parliament functions would go a long way in minimising the unnecessary tensions that crop up between Ministers and parliamentary committees from time to time. We actually feel that it should be mandatory for them to attend the same briefings as members. This calls for Parliament to budget sufficiently for members' development and training.
The relationship between Parliament and the executive must remain cordial at all times. This will enhance our working relationship, based on mutual understanding and respect of roles and responsibilities.
Portfolio committees remain an extension of Parliament, and therefore remain a conduit between Parliament and its various constituencies. It goes without saying that resourcing them adequately and equitably - financially and human resource-wise - will go a long way in advancing the national democratic revolution.
It is disheartening, though, to see that some portfolio committees are still struggling to get the necessary resource capacity, while others are overresourced. The hon Speaker must attend to this with immediate effect. It cannot be that two and a half years down the line there are still committees that cannot function optimally due to a lack of essential resources.
The management of the committee section and adjacent structures governing the business of committees leaves much to be desired. We need management and control systems that are not only on paper, but are also practical, in such a way that they serve as enablers, and not as disablers of the work of committees.
Editing of minutes and reports still remains a huge challenge in this regard. These documents, we must all know, will remain public documents, and they must be reader-friendly and also aim to inform and educate members of the public on the critical business of the committees of this Parliament. I know that the House Chairperson of Committees has commenced work in this regard, but I still feel quick intervention is needed, lest unnecessary litigation follow.
You will realise that I am focusing mainly on the committee oversight work, as compared to other forms of oversight. This is so because it seems to be one of the most crucial areas, while at the same time being the main voice behind the masses of our people.
I feel that if committees are fully catered for, issues of consultation through public hearings, public dialogue, questions, answering of questions and statements will be enhanced. That will then improve the way members confront issues and will increase the effectiveness of our oversight.
We as the ANC also believe that the above lays the basis for effective and robust oversight work of Parliament. This Parliament embodies the will of the people and must ensure that it is responsive to their needs. It is through making the executive and other government organs accountable that we may say that we are truly representative of our people.
The economic recession taught us how important the work of committees is in scrutinising the country's budget, even before the budgets are presented to the legislatures by the Treasuries. Processes that lead to the tabling of the Budget by the Minister of Finance are so crucial that it may cause Parliament to have a greater influence on the actual allocation.
It is still difficult to implement the Money Bills Amendment Act, but we hope that studies undertaken by the hon Speaker and his team will help in solving the puzzle for us. The same tool can be used to force government departments to meet their MDGs. Parliament needs to intensify its community participation by being resourced adequately.
In conclusion, the essence of what we are both constitutionally and politically charged to do in our deployment to Parliament is to ensure that we as public representatives change the lives of our people for the better. For this to happen requires a philosophical outlook on the functioning of Parliament as a developmental one. The systems, structures, rules and facilities of Parliament must reflect an approach that is developmental for the members during their period of deployment. This developmental approach must allow members to exercise their responsibility to get on with what they have been tasked to do by their parties and the Constitution.
It therefore needs very serious introspection by the Parliamentary Oversight Authority on whether we truly are building a developmental Parliament in terms of its implementing culture and practice, so that we can be seized with the fundamental objective of servicing the needs of our people.
The ANC welcomes measures put in place by the Speaker and the authority in Parliament, and supports this Budget Vote. We believe we are on the right course and with time we will take the leap. By the way, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Thank you. [Applause.]