ACDP Parliamentary newsletter - 25 November 2003

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In this issue:

1. Foreign aid sitting idle
2. Kamp Staaldraad an invasion of dignity
3. Report of Committee on Ethics and Member's Interests
4. Medium-term Budget Policy Statement
5. Adjustment Appropriation Bill
6. Electoral Laws Amendment Bill a step in the right direction

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1. Foreign aid sitting idle

Speech by ACDP leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe MP

The ACDP welcomes the announcement that the Irish foreign minister Brian Cowen has pledged millions of rands to the South African government after touring poor communities in Johannesburg and Pretoria. About R264 million will be made available over three years to assist the government's development projects.

However, we were shocked to hear earlier this month that donations of nearly R1 billion are sitting idle in the government's reconstruction and development fund and that than R40 million of this money has been returned to donors in Europe because of a lack capacity to spend it.

There are many poor and homeless South Africans desperately waiting for help from their government. By not spending aid money to help the poor, the government is sending the message that it doesn't care about the poor, particularly when they allow millions of rands to be sent back to donors.

Not being able to distribute the funds due to a lack of capacity after nine years of governing is inexcusable. Capacity building must be a priority so that all our needy individuals and communities will benefit from generous donors who are pledging millions of rands to our government.

If the government has capacity problems, as it surely does, then the unspent money should be directed to non-governmental organisations such as churches and others at grassroots level to use it to help the poor.

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2. Kamp Staaldraad an invasion of dignity

Motion by African Christian Democratic Party MP (NCOP) Kent Durr

The House has taken note of the bizarre training methods imposed upon our rugby Springboks in the training run up to the Rugby World Cup held in Australia.

The House considers this kind of militaristic psychological warfare imposed upon our sportsmen by our rugby coaches, as allegedly occurred at Kamp Staaldraad, as an invasion of the privacy and dignity of the sportsmen concerned.

The episode has brought ridicule and dishonour upon one of the South Africans National Sports, as well as on the players concerned.

The behaviour of our rugby hierarchy stands in stark contrast to the great sportsmanships displayed by our golfing fraternity at the Presidents cup in George over the weekend, where great sportsmanship and wise leadership was the order of the day.

The House welcomes the intervention of our Minister of Sport in this rugby affair in order to clean up the unsatisfactory circumstances presently in our rugby.

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3. Report of Committee on Ethics and Member's Interests

Speech by ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley

The ruling by the Ethics Committee, made up of a majority of ANC and NNP members, is pre mature as this investigation cannot be concluded when evidence before the committee contains contradictions, which have not been adequately explained.

It is the opinion of the ACDP that key role players and the public prosecutor should have been asked to give oral evidence before the committee before any conclusions were drawn.

Even then, this finding should merely have been an interim one, pending the outcome of the Shaik court proceedings, which are inextricably linked to the issues discussed by the Ethics Committee. The strong likelihood that evidence will emerge during this trial which will impact on the Ethics Committee Findings has been ignored.

The ACDP also disagrees with the Ethics Committee's finding that the question of whether the loan agreements compromised or impaired the judgement of Deputy President Zuma is not relevant. The purpose of disclosure to Parliament is to guard against situations where office bearers abuse or compromise their positions and this question is surely therefore relevant.

The committee has set a dangerous precedent as anyone who is found to have received money can produce loan agreements after the fact to support non-disclosure of funds

It appears that ministers are clearly off limits, and this prevents parliament from performing any real oversight function. Members of Parliament are strictly dealt with, punished and in some cases forced to resign, while in matters involving the executive, Parliament treads lightly and MP's feel obliged to defend their leaders.

The Ethics Committee is therefore not a suitable structure to deal with allegations against an executive member of the government and an independent inquiry should have been set up to investigate these allegations.

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4. Medium-term Budget Policy Statement

Speech by ACDP MP Mr Adriaan Blaas

Introduction
The policy framework promotes growth within macroeconomic constrains by focusing on specific actions to stimulate growth. The success of achieving the growth objectives, however, relies heavily on capacity to translate these policies into action.

Macroeconomic Forecasts
There is general consensus on the macroeconomic forecast and the alignment of the medium term budget policy framework in terms of the indicators.

Focus
The main focus on job creation through direct and indirect measures is welcomed. The focused approach to assist the vulnerable and poor through social support measures will help the most needed in the communities. May the time arrive that people will become less dependent on the state by having the opportunity to be self-sufficient. The contribution to nation building by citizens that can retain their dignity should not be underestimated. Concerns There are concerns. The success of achieving the objectives of the policies depends on the capacity to give effect to the supporting programmes underpinning the policies. This capacity is under suspicion.

A further concern is the reduction of the defence budget to 1.3% of GDP in the outside year compared to an international norm of 1.8% to 2% for similar countries as SA. International commitments without the necessary financial support resulted in the landward capabilities of the SANDF be severely compromised. This must be rebuilt and sufficient funding must be made available to support international commitments.

The safety and security allocations are also questioned. The SANDF support to SAPS must be taken over by them. Considering the scope of existing SANDF support the required allocations to SAPS does not reflect in the policy framework.

Conclusion
The policies framework give consistency for future economic expectation and confidence manifests in the market reaction experienced after the announcement. Defence and safety and security must however be revisited.

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5. Adjustment Appropriation Bill

Speech by ACDP MP Mr Adriaan Blaas

Although the net adjusted appropriation is only R1.22 billion (less than .5% of the original budget) there are concerns that need to be addressed. There are objections against some of the schedules but the Adjustments Appropriation Bill in general, will be supported by the ACDP

The capital to current ratio declines from 20.6% to 18.62%. This is caused by a R1.4 billion reduction in fixed capital expenditure while there is a continuous upward creep in personnel expenses. The trend must be reversed to ensure that job creation objectives are met.

Out of the total of R2.8 billion provided for unforeseeable/unavoidable expenses R1.65 (approximately 60%) is required by three votes. They are vote 34 (water affairs), vote 27 (communications) and vote 22 (defence)

With reference to vote 34 one can accept the expenses barring the payment of unrecoverable debt and repayment of loans where the department gave guarantees.

Communications requires R799.7 million for the postal services (Programme 3) to repay money taken from deposits in the Post Bank and used by the post office in their operations. They are unable to repay this money and government must sito sito bail them out. No account of this was given to Parliament. Is such intervention by government into banking operation acceptable? From previous experience I do not think so.

The amount given to defence is not sufficient. The R500 million only covers the direct expenses for involvement in the peace initiatives. Deployments incur additional costs relating to mobilization, mission training, transport, sustenance and demobilization. These were funded from existing resources but all reserves are now depleted to such a level that the landward defence capability is in jeopardy and the success of foreign missions are at risk. We support the peace initiatives but the necessary resources must be made available.

Although the net additional appropriation is within acceptable norms specific items such as defence and communication, amongst others, should receive more attention.

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6. Electoral Laws Amendment Bill a step in the right direction

Speech by ACDP MP Steve Swart

The ACDP has been at the forefront of the campaign to allow overseas citizens to vote, being the first party to raise the issue in the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee and eliciting petitions from South African citizens in twenty-seven countries supporting their right to vote. We also engaged legal counsel to advise us as to the constitutionality of the exclusion of overseas voters.

We welcomed the initial amendment to the Act allowing certain categories of South Africans temporarily overseas to vote, but shared their disappointment when there was a dramatic about-turn in the Home Affairs Committee when this amendment was rejected.

We consequently support the latest amendment to the Electoral Act to allow persons temporarily overseas on holiday, for business trips, studying at tertiary institutions or participating in a sports event to vote in next year's elections. South Africans are operating in a global environment and there is no reason why South Africans temporarily overseas should be denied the opportunity to vote.

The requirement that they register as a voter in South Africa and notify the Electoral Commission of their intended absence on election day may prove onerous for those students already temporarily overseas. Surely they should be allowed to register at their local foreign mission, just as government officials will be required to do.

In conclusion, we support the majority party in its stand against allowing convicted prisoners the right to vote. It would be unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of South African citizens overseas, who do not fall within the categories contained in today's amendment, will not be permitted to vote, while convicted prisoners will be permitted to vote.

Whilst we still however maintain that all South African citizens overseas should be allowed to vote, we will support this bill as a step in the right direction.

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