Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
Honourable Members
Ladies and gentlemen

I appreciate the opportunity to deliberate on this very important institutional debate of tabling the Taking Parliament to the People report. This debate is informed by the programmes and priorities of our constitutional democracy, which calls us to become an activist and people centered parliament. Section 72 of the Constitution enjoins the NCOP to facilitate public involvement in the Legislative and other processes. It further requires the NCOP to conduct its business in an open manner and hold its sitting and those of its committees. 

Furthermore Section 66 of the Constitution authorises the NCOP to require a Cabinet member or Deputy Minister or an official in the national or provincial executive to attend its meetings or those of its committees.

But most importantly, the National Council of provinces is unique by virtue of its institutional configuration, which requires that provincial and local interest be expressed at national level.

This makes us the centre for intergovernmental relations and cooperative governance, because we able to converge all spheres of governance, for the purpose of ensuring seamless delivery of services to our people.

To this end, the Taking Parliament to the People was designed in pursuance of the above stipulated mandate and principles, giving expression to the precepts of our constitution and to ensure accountability and transparency.

The programme is hence particularly anchored in principles of freedom of expression, which is a direct contrast to where we come from as a nation.

Honourable Members,

As a People’s Assembly, this democratic parliament has sought to make a radical shift by empowering communities to speak out on issues that fundamentally define their quality of life.

Over the last 21 years of our democratic dispensation, we have witnessed a steady evolution in our participatory practices.

Whereas this nation was once ruled by intimidation and the iron fist of violence, today the constitution gives our people the right to hold its government accountable, through the democratic systems and instruments at our disposal.

Whereas public meetings were once banned resulting in detention without trial, today the NCOP is at the coalface of public participation, by entrenching open and transparent engagement on issues of provincial and local interest.

The Taking Parliament to the People programme is therefore a living mechanism, which has significantly entrenched South Africa’s democracy in tangible and recognisable ways.

Through the Taking Parliament to the People programme we have also seen in measurable ways, how the first clause of the Freedom Charter which states that “the people shall govern”, has been advanced. This programme hence also responds to the imperative, that public meetings and robust debate are the life blood of our democracy.

Honourable Members,

As we debate this report today, let us not merely lament the obvious fact that poverty is an indictment against the lives of our people.

Instead let us transcend this debate to a new terrain and reaffirm our collective role as an activist people’s parliament.

The first measure of an impactful and people centered activist parliament, is our ability to seize the responsibility of public participation.

This we should pursue, not merely for compliance, but instead to ensure that we leave footprints of transformation and positive change where ever we go.

Secondly, the measure of an impactful people’s parliament is our ability to ensure that as we put names and faces to the stories of poverty that we encounter, that our humanity will restrain us from becoming so desensitised, to an extent where stories of poverty and brokenness become acceptable as the norm.

Chairperson,

I am reminded this morning of Charlotte Stuurman, a single, disabled woman from Bongolethu in Oudtshoorn, who came to the public hearings to ask for a wheelchair ramp to be erected at her rental dwelling. She also requested that her RDP house be built with disability specifications. I am aware that a process is currently underway with the department of human settlements, to address the challenges raised by Charlotte Stuurman.

Honourable Members,

Parliament is a strategic site for the implementation of the broad objectives to improve the material conditions of the poor.

In our implementation of the broad objectives, let us remember that the finer details for development make reference to the lives of real people, who daily grapple with the tough challenges of poverty and inequality.

We are seized with the responsibility to act with resolute determination, to change the landscape of poverty, which many of us have come face to face with.

This Parliament is therefore duty bound to become more responsive and people centered, as a driving force to push back the frontiers of poverty.

As we deepen our resolve to oversee the implementation of the transformation agenda for our people, this 5th parliament must also begin to ask critical questions, particularly around the processing of reports such as what we are tabling today.

It is incumbent upon this house to discern that it takes more than a debate of this nature to activate radical shifts that accelerate development.

It is incumbent upon us all to recognise, that beyond the tabling of this report, lies the vast expanse of self-critique, which we must be willing engage in order to improve our performance.

This requires an assessment of the effectiveness of the NCOP’s institutional machinery, as key drivers of our transformation.

Beyond the tabling of this report, committees must actively pursue their oversight function in ways that make implementation possible.

Honourable Members,

We are all aware that oversight in broad terms involves the crucial function of Parliament and its various committees to oversee and review the endeavours of the executive.

In line with the Constitution, parliamentary committees are central to exercising oversight by means of amongst others, actively involving the public and public representatives with a clear focus on transparent governance.

Committees hence give effect to parliament working for the delivery of services to the public, in order to create a better life for all.

Furthermore, we must also question whether we are robust enough in the way that we interpret and implement our constitutional mandate.

Are we truly pursuing and tracking transformation, with a clear focus on the dates and time frames for delivery given by the executive?

Of course we must exercise our responsibilities recognising that effective and constructive oversight is not primarily concerned with exposing failings in the executive. It is rather concerned with ensuring better governance.

Constructive oversight is certainly not about antagonising the executive with impunity. Instead it is about stabilising and underpinning our relations with the core principles of cooperative governance, in order to assist government to achieve its goals.

Answers to these questions require a willingness for self-criticism. It requires a deeper understanding of key policy directives such as the NDP and government’s overall programme of action.

In addition to the above, we must also assess whether the institutional architecture of the NCOP is resilient enough to accelerate transformation and capacitate ourselves effectively for the task before us.

This debate therefore gives us the opportunity to transcend the norm and innovate, so that we can achieve radical socio-economic transformation.

Honourable Members,

We have also come together in this fashion today, to assess our performance in reducing the trust deficit that is caused by public engagements that fail to produce tangible results.

The clarion call before this house today, is therefore to ensure that programmes such Taking Parliament to the People become results driven, with quicker turnaround time frames and maximum impact on the lives of ordinary people.

When the Taking Parliament to the People programme visited Oudtshoorn, a number of key challenges were uncovered. These challenges highlighted the important role of oversight in ensuring that priorities of government are implemented in order to realise the objectives of the National Development Plan.

During the week of deliberations the NCOP managed to gather the following information:

    High levels of corruption in the allocation of RDP houses;
    Huge water shortage in Kannaland and Outshoorn;
    Concern over unlawful deviation from appropriate school quintiles;
    Lack of availability of rehabilitation facilities for recovering addicts in Knysna;
    Early Childhood Development Sector ( ECDS) reported that they experienced serious delays when they required Transfer Payment Agreements;
    Lack of transformation in the agricultural sector; and
    Racism allegations at both Valithuba Adult Learning Centre and Africa Skill College.

In the City of Cape Town we have also witnessed how the poorest households live on the outskirts of the city, furthest away from potential employment opportunities, and least able to afford the costs of urban sprawl.

Most often, poorer residents have to commute longer distances and times by means of public transport modes that are currently not optimally integrated. However, significant decentralisation of commercial and work opportunities is taking place.

Almost 43% of Black African commuters use public transport (bus and train), and about 50% of Black African commuters have to travel between 30 and 60 minutes between home and work. This is in contrast with the 21.69% of Coloured commuters and 2.24% of White commuters who use public transport.

The City’s social fabric is also undermined by social marginalisation and high levels of social criminality, especially drug and murder-related crimes.

This requires concerted interventions to build social equity, foster a sense of community, and encourage residents (especially the youth) to engage in rebuilding the city.

Honourable Members, the above are just some of the issues that our people have urged us to speedily respond.

This institution is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that we not only listen to the challenges of our people. We must activate our institutional mechanisms to respond faster to these pressing needs.

Conclusion

I want to conclude by thanking all the communities that have participated in the Taking Parliament to the People programme in the Western Cape.

We saw in Oudtshoorn how our people woke up in the dawn of the morning to come seek our help.

The people who went to Oudtshoorn grounds are not interested at Party politics, they are interested in service delivery.

Let us work together to make South Africa and the Western Cape a home for all our people, regardless of colour or creed.

Let us take this report and use it as a mechanisms to unlock transformation and good governance for the benefit of all our people.

Committees must also strive to sustain efforts that will ensure that a platform of engagement remains open with communities. We should continue engaging both the executive and communities, in order to ensure each and every challenge that was raised is effectively addressed.

Thank you