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Immediate There are currently two vacancies on the Board of the Land Bank and in terms of the Act (Land and Agricultural Development Bank Act - Act 15 of 2002) the minister must "by notice in the Gazette, as well as in other appropriate media and by written invitation to the relevant parliamentary committees, call for the nomination of persons to serve on the board". The Minister of Finance, in a letter dated 4 August 2009, informed the Speaker of the National Assembly about the vacancies, and requested that the letter be referred to the relevant standing committees. The minister again on 13 August 2009 wrote to the Speaker informing him that the initial closing date for nominations of 14 August had been extended to 28 August. And to further add to the flawed process, the notice inviting nominations appeared in the Gazette for the first time on 28 August, the same day nominations closed! It is unclear when the minister's letters reached the Speaker's office; however, for some reason the Democratic Alliance representatives (and possibly all parties) on the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries received notice from the Committee Secretariat about the vacancies as well as of a meeting scheduled for 15 September to "consider nominations", only on Friday, 4 September (a week after the already extended closing date for applications). The procedure followed so far raises serious questions:

Firstly, why was the committee (or at least the DA representatives) informed about the vacancies and calling for nominations only a month after the minister first wrote to the Speaker, and after the closing date for applications?

Secondly, is it the intention that only those applications that were received by the minister's deadline will be considered, or will the committee be allowed to also invite applications by a later deadline? Whatever is decided will make a mockery of the prescripts and intention of the Act. The Act is clear that the committee should have been involved all along and that it should not be necessary to have two different processes of calling for nominations.

Thirdly, did members of the ANC on the committee have "unofficial" advance knowledge of the minister's intention to call for nominations and did they in the process ensure that their preferred applicants apply in time? We will seek answers to that.

The Democratic Alliance is adamant that the Board of the Land Bank should not be politicised and that Board positions should not be positions of reward for ANC kaders. Our unhappiness stems from the fact that in this flawed process all parties have not had a fair opportunity to identify suitable, experienced and qualified individuals that can contribute to the success of the Bank, irrespective of their political persuasions, and to invite them to apply. We are fully aware the minister will make the final appointments, but then at least the quality and extent of the pool of candidates must be such that the minister is put in a position to chose from the very best and appoint people solely on their abilities to do the job and contribute to the success of the Bank. Fit for purpose and ability to do the job must be the overarching selection criterion, particularly in this sensitive time in the turnaround period of the Bank. The Democratic Alliance will write to the Minister of Finance and the Speaker to formally object to the process being followed and will request that the vacancies be re-advertised to allow the portfolio committee adequate time to fulfill its mandate as envisaged in the Act.