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Today, in breach parliamentary rules, the Chairman of the Finance
Committee T.A Mufamadi ruled that the IFP could not mention in the
joint Committees Report on the Medium Terms Budget Policy Statement
[MTBPS] the views which IFP Leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
publically expressed on the MTBPS and the status of the economy.

The Committees' Report accepted the submission received from the
Minister, the Deputy Minister and certain participants in the public
hearings, and the MTBPS' assumptions, projections, parameters and
approach. IFP MP MGR Oriani-Ambrosini insisted that this is not
correct without mentioning two of IFP's main concerns. Under the Rules
of the National Assembly minority views must be reported in any report
dealing with legislation, as this is the report which motivates and
explains the Adjustment Bill

The IFP wanted the Committee report to record the two IFP concerns, namely

- The IFP dissociates itself from the MTBPS' total reliance on the
economy turning around this fourth quarter and maintaining a high rate
of sustained economic growth for the next three years, which we do not
believe to be the case. This way to optimistic scenario is pegged on
selected positive signs and on underplaying many signs which suggests
that the depression will continue next year

- The IFP criticizes the MTBPS' failure to make required structural
adjustments to create a globally competitive industrial basis and cut
on chronic problems, such as the non-performing or under-performing
sectors of the parastatal and non-globally economically viable sectors
artificially propped up with subsidies and at huge taxpayers expense.

The Chairman ruled that these two simple paragraphs could not be
recorded in a 10 page Report because the rest of the Committees did
not share them. This turns Parliament into the venue where only
majority views are held and recorded and spells out the failure of
democracy and public discourse