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UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 1 THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 ____ PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ____ The House met at 10:00. The House Chairperson Ms M G Boroto took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayer or meditation. The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: House chair, thank you for the opportunity, we move that this House approves the draft notice and schedule received from the President dated 28 November 2017, determining the rate at which salaries and allowances or benefits are payable to Constitutional Court judges or judges annually with effect from 01 April 2017 in terms of section (1)(a) of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act as amended by section 15 of the Judicial Officers Amendments. We so move. Agreed to. UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 2 The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: House Chair, we again move that this House approves the draft notice and schedule received from the President, dated 28 November 2017, determining the rate at which salaries and allowances or benefits are payable to magistrates annually, with effect from 01 April 2017 in terms of section 12(1) (a) of the Magistrates Act as amended by section 3 of the Judicial Officers Conditions of Service Act. We so move. Motion agreed to. The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: House Chair, I am just hopeful that I will also get a bonus after this. [Laughter.] The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Christmas present. The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: House Chair, on a serious note we move that this House suspends Rule 290(2)(a), which provides inter alia that the debate on the Second Reading of a Bill may not commence before at least three working days have elapsed since the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 3 committee’s report was tabled, for the purposes of conducting the Second Reading debate today on the Adjustments Appropriation Bill. We so move. Declaration(s) of vote: The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: House Chair, we do not usually oppose wavings of three day rules in this House because generally we recognise that we do need to find consensus and find each other in this House. However, this particular matter, the handling of the budget as well as this matter, the Adjustments Appropriations Bill cannot go without comment and the expression of our reservations with the manner in which both the budget process as well as the Adjustments Appropriations Bill has been handled by this House. Last year we raised similar concerns around the processing of the budget and the Adjustments Appropriations Bill both in this House and in the NCOP. You will recall that several letters were written to you and concerns were raised. We decided last year to let it go because we were under the express understanding that in the intervening period measures are going to be put in UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 4 place to improve the way this parliament has processed its finances, the budget and the Appropriations Bill. Unfortunately that has not been the case. In fact what we have seen this year is a far worse process that we even had last year. It is very clear that the process this year for the budget as well as the Adjustments Appropriations Bill are being rushed through and railroaded precisely to ensure that this House rises in time for the ANC to start campaigning for their internal elections and it is not acceptable. [Applause.] It is not acceptable that this House is forced to rise and rush through its business, the people’s business in order to meet an internal party deadline. Unacceptable. Just yesterday we had a discussion by the high level panel that presented themselves before the National Assembly. One of the chief concerns that they raised was precisely this fact that Parliament itself is not expressing, shaping or adjusting the budgets to suit the people’s needs. The high level panel has recognised that this Parliament is far too beholden to the executive when UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 5 it comes to the budgeting, too subservient to the Executive when it comes to adjusting. What we need to see and what the High level panel is calling for is for a Parliament that is far more activist in its approach, that is actually looking very carefully at the budget and not just simply sitting back and accepting whatever the executive throws into this House without questioning it instead just rushes it through the processes. The chairperson of the finance committee bullying and intimidating Members of Parliament on the finance committee when they are just trying to do the job that the people of South Africa sent them here to do which is to exercise influence and oversight of the budget. We cannot accept a process this year where the process ... [Interjections.] ... Ms L M MASEKO: So what? The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: ... and you ask, so what? You ask so what? I hear the hon member at the back UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 6 saying, so what. Well, I will tell what, it is precisely what the High Level Panel said. It said that you are not doing your job as a Member of Parliament if you are just accepting what is coming this way from the executive. [Applause.] That is so what. How can you in good conscience go back to your communities and tell them that you have done good by them, that you have examined this budget and that you really stood up for the people that sent you here. You are not doing that, you are simply rolling over unto your back and letting the executive scratch your tummy and acquiescing to their every command. That is an abrogation of your duty. [Applause.] It is a failure and dereliction of Members of Parliament to do the job that they were sent to this House to do. That is why it is so what and if you do not take your job seriously please do not stand in the way of Members of Parliament who do take their job and responsibility seriously. [Applause.] That is so what. We cannot allow again in this House for deadlines to be set, this budget should have been subjected to far more UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 7 scrutiny. It is probably the most important budgeting process that we have had since 1994. This country is in tremendous trouble. This government ha steered our economy into the rocks. It should be this Parliament’s responsibility to fox the sails change the directions and start steering us away from the rocks. Instead what the ANC wants to do is say to the executive, well you have smashed the ship unto the rocks we are going to reverse a little bit and let you smash it on to the rocks again. That is a failure of our responsibility. We should not be cutting short our responsibility to this House. We should not be cutting with jobs. I thank you. The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon member from the ANC could you please take your seat by your side. Hon Singh, is that a declaration? Mr N SINGH: Yes, it is a declaration. The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Oh, you just didn’t want to come here? UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 8 Mr N SINGH: Yes The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): It is fine. Thank you very much. Hon member are you comfortable there or would you like to take your seat back there and you will come back? Mr N SINGH: Chair, I do not mind if the hon ANC member goes before me so that I can rebut what he says, however, House Chairperson, to the extent that the hon Chief Whip of the Opposition has spoken about the role of Parliament to monitor budgets. I think that we are failing in that regard because as Parliament we do not really do our job in terms of legislation that we have passed to oversee a budget that the executive presents to us. That is not solely our fault, it is because we have passed legislation in this House where the timeframes have not been adequately addressed. I was part of the founding committee when the hon Nene looked at this piece of legislation. [Interjections.] Chair, I really can’t hear myself with the noise behind me. UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2017 Page: 9 The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon members, please allow the hon Singh to make his declaration. You all have representatives in the House who can respond to what he is saying. Continue, hon Singh. Mr N SINGH: I was one of the members on the original committee when this parliament voted that we should establish a committee to look at what is our constitutional right. I think that in drafting that legislation we accepted that the time frames we put there for portfolio committees to look at the budgets and go back to Ministers and get the Standing Committee of Appropriations to also make submissions was not adequate. My appeal is and I have made this appeal in another forum is that we as parliament need to relook at that legislation that we ourselves have passed in this House, look at the timeframes to make it reasonable enough for us to influence a budget that the executive presents to us.