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Addressing a strategic planning session of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) today, Chairperson, Ms Thandi Modise, urged Members to relook at the way “we are doing our business and to do things differently and better”.

The NCOP’s first two days’ planning session in the fifth Parliament is taking place in Milnerton outside of Cape Town starting today. In attendance are representatives from Provincial Legislatures, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and independent experts.

In a no-holds-barred address at the start of the session, Ms Modise raised a number of “hard questions which require response and action if we are to remain relevant as this House”.

“Numerically, we are small as the House. Our collective will, however, cannot be measured in terms of our numbers. We are not going to do the small things. We shall require special effort to understand our task and to do it better.”

“We must interrogate the very constitutional mandate of the NCOP. We have the advantage of experience on our side. We have come through twenty years of democracy through which we acquired meaningful experience,” she said.

The task ahead is very serious. The NCOP is the underutilised asset in our Constitution. We must define our role and we must acquire resources to do our work. We must and we can earn respect of society as Members of Parliament.

Critical areas raised for reflection included the constitutional mandate of the House, rules, the approach to oversight, public participation and cooperative government. Issues of resources available to Members to do their work also came in for special scrutiny.

The sessions seek to develop a new blueprint for the NCOP to guide its work and business in the fifth term.

Constitutional law expert, Professor Shadrack Ghutto, and political analyst, Mr Ralph Mathekga, provided critical input.

The session ends tomorrow.