Address by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the honourable Ms Baleka Mbete, MP, on the occasion of Parliament Budget Vote 2, National Assembly, Parliament of the Republic of South Africa

Madam Deputy Speaker
Members of the Executive
Honourable members of Parliament
Fellow South Africans

The debate on Parliament's Budget Vote on the first day of June is significant. Today is International Children's Day, a symbol of the importance of children to humanity as a whole but specifically to the work of Parliament.

The rights of children and improving the well-being of children in our country and continent must remain uppermost on the agendas of all of us as children are the future of our society. That is why we passed the Children's Act of 2005 and have a Children's Charter.

At continental level we have an African Union (AU) Charter on the rights and welfare of children. At global level we have the United Nations (UN) Convention on the rights of the children.

Let's rededicate ourselves to develop vigilant communities that care for our children. Let us practise the proverb "it takes a village to raise a child", as it typifies the importance of the role of the wider community in raising, nurturing and protecting children not abusing them.

Governance structures

Honourable members, very early in the life of the third Parliament the matter of the Governance Model was tabled for a series of discussions. Based on lessons learned during the first and second Parliaments and recommendations coming from many discussions during those times, the present governance structure was ultimately adopted. According to this there are two bodies that report to the Houses on different aspects of the running of Parliament. The Joint Rules Committee focuses on the core functions of Parliament as provided for in section 45 of the Constitution. In order to remove the operational matters from bogging down the Joint Rules Committee (JRC) as in the past, a Parliamentary Oversight Authority (POA) was created. It is like the Joint Rules Committee a multi party body co-chaired by the presiding officers, but is much smaller. It is supposed to receive quarterly reports from the secretary on operational matters.

The JRC and POA are effectively two sides of the same coin. While the JRC ensures policy formulation and implementation in regard to the core business of Parliament, the POA is responsible for formulating policy directives in respect of the various services and facilities of Parliament and ensuring and monitoring implementation of the policy.

The following forums feed into the POA:

* the Whips' Forums of the two Houses which facilitate consensus on matters of mutual interest and also channel members' perspectives on policies affecting them;
* the Parliamentary Budget Forum is also a multi party structure which prepares Parliament's budget;
* the Quarterly Consultative Forum facilitates the input of members of Parliament on matters concerning members' facilities and support.

As should be expected there have been some tensions between some of these bodies. The Whips Forum and the Quarterly Consultative Forum as said before are both dealing with members' facilities and concerns. It is our contention that there is room for both these structures. The initial apparent clashes were thrashed out by their representatives. They contribute from different perspectives to policy development.

In addition to its annual responsibility for drawing up and presenting Parliament's budget to the National Treasury, the POA has also been involved in the discussions around the proposed Financial Management of Parliament Bill, a piece of legislation that will have the same role in regard to Parliament's and Provincial Legislatures' financial management as the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) has to other organs of State. An aspect of the Bill which has engendered much discussion inside Parliament and in the media has been to whom Parliament accounts for its use of public funds.

This matter was first broached and tabled for discussion during the second Parliament at a JRC meeting.

Parliament's accounts are audited by the Auditor-General (AG), the questions arises what should happen if Parliament receives a qualified audit. The National Assembly rules provide that all AG reports go to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA). There is no quarrel with that.

There has, however, been debate on these matters. One of the important questions relates to the fact that SCOPA is a committee of only one of the Houses of Parliament. Parliament, constitutionally, is both houses. No doubt we'll reach an agreed position one day. In the meantime the secretary has appeared before SCOPA.

At this point, I wish to straighten the record in relation to the much talked about qualifications. The facts are as follows, since the third Parliament started in 2004 we have received three AG reports. The first one on the 2003/04 period reflected eight qualifications covering the second parliament. The 2004/05 report reflected one qualification. The 2005/06 report again had one qualification.

Parliament's new audit committee was appointed in February 2007 and has met four times since. For the information of, honourable members, the Chairperson is Mr Chose Choeu, other members are Mr Coovadia, Mrs Qunta, Mr Nondabula, honourable Mabe from National Assembly and honourable Botha from National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

Honourable members, having hit the mid-term point in November 2006, Parliament came into 2007 with a keen sense of having less time ahead for us than what's behind. That usually jolts one's sense of urgency and need to focus.

Among the many things we still have to before the next election do are the following:
* pass outstanding legislation giving effect to the Constitution
* repeal old apartheid statutes
* the ad-hoc committee reviewing Chapter 9 institutions will table its report in another two months or so. Parliament has to oversee the implementation of its recommendations, including carefully looking at Parliament's own capacity and structures to engage in this area of work of all these institutions.

Madam Deputy Speaker, in his reply to the State of the Nation address (SONA) debate in February this year, the honourable President engaged around Parliament's theme 'Masijule Ngengxoxo Mzantsi!

He suggested the following three points for consideration by an appropriate parliamentary structure:
* the issues of social transformation including the important issues of national and social cohesion and a national value system
* eradication of poverty
* and the reduction and eradication of crime.

I use this opportunity, honourable members, to remind us of this. We have to find a way of engaging on these matters.

Honourable members, I have raised the matter of the changing patterns in the functioning of Parliament as we move further away from the beginning of the democratic dispensation with its attendant institutions. Previously during informal discussions on drastically cutting down on the time spent by MPs in Cape Town, a caution was raised. This related to concerns from the Executive Council cutting the time down could immobilise the institution when important legislation needs to be passed. This is a valid concern that requires our collective careful consideration.

The question we need to pose is whether we all need to be in Cape Town all the time. If not, how should we reorganise our work and how do we identify those matters that everyone should come to discuss. Which matters must perhaps be left to fewer people to process while others do more oversight work? If that is not the way to go how should we change?

The change might be effected only in the fourth Parliament. Given that it is us who are living through these times of the changing pattern, the responsibility is ours to engage in analysis and recommendations for the future.

Honourable members, let us also remember that and independent panel we decided to create during the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process is presently busy at work. A reference group of parliamentarians keeps contact with them and helps when necessary. We hope the panel will be able to table a report before we rise at the end of the year.

The report of this panel will be a welcome mirror an tool to enable parliamentarians to engage constructively on whether, as it develops our parliamentary democracy is as envisaged by our Constitution. What are the specific points we need to pay attention to and how? For us that will be a positive engagement on debate about Parliament.

Before getting to the figures, I wish to touch on the hosting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union's 118 Plenary Assembly in April 2008. We expect between 1 300 to 1 500 MPs from more than 140 parliaments of the world. For Parliament this will be the single biggest gathering we'll ever host. It will be a full week of activities for which we have secured the Cape Town International Convention Centre as a venue. A steering committee of more than 20 MPs is spearheading the preparations. In addition, under the Department of Foreign Affairs an Inter-Ministerial Committee will handle a number of portfolios requiring involvement of colleagues from the Executive Council.

Appropriation vote 2 budget support

Parliament's appropriation increased between 2003/04 and 2006/07, rising from R639,9 million to R1 billion an average annual increase of 16,5 percent. I will quickly touch on the five programmes that drive our strategic objectives to realise our vision and mission.

Programme 1: Administration

Expenditure increased between 2003/04 and 2006/07, rising from R150,1 million to R216,1 million at an average annual rate of 12,9 percent as a result of increased human resource capacity, restructuring in several components and additional accommodation. Information and communication technology (ICT) requirements increased due to the implementation of Parliament's master systems plan including, the introduction of the Oracle enterprise resource planning system, a system to manage travel arrangements, etc.

Projects scheduled for this financial year include:
* a members' furniture project for suitable office furniture and facilities.

Programme 2: Legislation and oversight

Between 2003/04 and 2006/07, expenditure increased from R80,3 million to R173,5 million an average annual rate of 29,3 percent. Expenditure has been strongly influenced by: the taking Parliament to the people programme (implemented by the NCOP) providing additional oversight capacity mainly in the form of research, technical and content support services for committees and implementing the initial phases of the language project.

The provision of additional oversight capacity and support to the committees of Parliament in the form of research, communication, technical and content support is an ongoing project to further improve the efficiency of Parliament's oversight capability.

Programme 3: Public and international participation

Expenditure in public and international participation programme increased from R16,6 million to R84,5 million between 2003/04 and 2006/07 at an average annual rate of 72,1 percent. There were significant increases in all sub-programmes mainly influenced by increases in 2004/05 and 2006/07 in the public affairs sub-programme to increase participation in Parliament. The 66,2 percent average annual increase in compensation of employees between 2003/04 and 2006/07 addresses needs in the areas of media relations, public relations and events management. Overall expenditure has also increased due to the hosting of a number of important international activities and participation in several international forums.

Projects to be implemented in this financial year include:
* continuation of the implementation of the language policy
* the establishment of a parliamentary call centre
* the upgrading of publishing systems and video conferencing facilities.

Programme 4: Members' facilities

Expenditure increased from R87 million in 2003/04 to R151,2 million in 2006/07, at an average annual rate of 20,2 percent mainly due to changes in the travel policy and related entitlements, the rising cost of air travel and operational costs following the 2004/05 elections.

Programme 5: Associated services

Expenditure grew rapidly from R71,7 million in 2003/04 to R156,8 million in 2006/07 at an average annual rate of 29,8 percent, due to the 76,7 percent increase in 2006/07 in the Constituency Support Sub-Programme for constituency and party administration allowances. This trend continues over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period when expenditure is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 21,1 percent, reaching R278,4 million in 2009/10 to accommodate further support to members.

In conclusion

I wish to say, in spite of our challenges, we have also been making a lot of progress about which very little is said. Yes we have had the travel voucher problems. But we now have a successful new travel system. We wish more stories could be told about that success.

Under our training programme about which I hope Madam Deputy Speaker you will say more, 72 MPs graduated on 10 May 2007. Given that the training is geared to improve MPs capacity in their work in Parliament, we must be proud of this success story.

Honourable members, I can't end without making reference to our beautiful new emblem. It is a thing of beauty that celebrates the soul of South Africa! Thank you, Madam Deputy-Speaker!

Issued by: South African Parliament
1 June 2007