
=====================================================================
2001/02 Policy Speech of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature by the Speaker
=====================================================================

Media Releases & Diary/Programme
 Legislature

[         w

 EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
 2001/02 POLICY SPEECH OF THE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE SPEECH
 BY THE SPEAKER MR M M MATOMELA
 ON 14 MARCH 2001



Honourable Deputy Speaker and Hon Members

I am pleased to present the second budget of the second term of this Legislature

In line with the principle of sound financial management espoused by our Mission and Vision Statement and in terms of accountable 
governance, I believe that, before I state our future policy direction, I need to outline progress on issues raised in last years Budget 
and Policy Speech.

1. LEGISLATURES CORE BUSINESS

During the course of last year, informed by a Commissioned Research Report, the Legislature identified as its core business the 
parliamentary procedural issues - public participation in law-making and oversight of the Executive.

These broad terms are sub-categorised into:

1.1  Institutionalised days
 1.2  Public Participation
 1.3  Standing Committees
 1.4  Law-making

1.1 Institutionalised Days

We have made progress in budgeting ourselves for these days i.e. Open Day, Womens and Youth Parliaments.

Once again the Legislature had a very successful Open Day. We have further identified that our Open Days, being an evaluation by the people 
of how government is delivering, as well as an opportunity for the Executive to further interact with the electorate, lacked a follow-
through approach. Informed by this, we have devised a system where a booklet of questions, answers, and everything raised during this 
important day, would be referred to various communities for feedback through the various constituency offices and the MPLs. In this way the 
information gap between the Legislature, Executive and the electorate will be closed.

I also wish to appeal to the public to make contact with the Legislature should the problems highlighted at the Open Day not be attended 
to.

Informed by our Mission Statement to be "a peoples assembly where the voices, languages, cultures and heritage of the province are 
represented", we added to the list the following Parliaments - Religious, Aged People and People with Disabilities. On 7 February 2001 the 
Rules Committee adopted rules to institutionalise days for the Disabled, Aged and the Religious Fraternity. The Legislature is also 
considering a Workers Parliament to be held on or about Workers Day.

These days will be planned with specific outcomes to ensure that the money budgeted for these events is used in the most effective and 
efficient ways. Meetings with the relevant stakeholders are being held for suggestions towards these events.

The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature in conjunction with the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons held a celebration for the 
International Day for disabled persons on 30/11/2000.

As the Legislature is inaccessible to disabled persons at this stage, the venue was the Skenjana Roji Hall in Bisho. The Chairperson of the 
Standing Committee on Gender, Youth and Disabled Persons participated in the programme

It pleases me that the Legislature was able to, through the Appropriation Adjustment Bill, 2001, obtain tenders for lifts and facilities 
for especially the aged and people with disabilities. This will indeed turn us into a peoples assembly.

On 5 September 2000 a Prayer Meetings and Related Matters Launch was held. Since then, meetings have been held with religious stakeholders 
in preparation of the Religious Parliament which will be held in September 2001. In addition to these meetings, mobilisation of the 
religious fraternity to participate in the transformation of governance in South Africa happens on a weekly basis and a programme for Godly 
Governance Network has been developed and implemented.

This initiative should not be seen as alienating any other faith or religion from the Legislature or the government. The Legislature is 
committed to upholding freedom of religion, expression and opinion as required by section 15 of the Constitution. In his Opening Address at 
Parliament on 25 June 1999, President Thabo Mbeki said: "A further impetus will have to be given to the initiative of Religious Leaders 
against Corruption to achieve the &#145;RDP of the soul which Nelson Mandela spoke about".

Religious leaders of all religions, faiths and denominations have the responsibility to give impetus to the "RDP of the soul". Once again 
they are and must be encouraged by our public representatives to engage with the Legislature and become involved in the Prayer Meetings and 
Related Matters initiative as well as the Religious Parliament.

1.2 Public Participation

It is further our considered view that, in order to bring democracy to the people or should I say, fetch it from them, and with a view to 
efficient and effective Public Participation in the legislative process, some of our Standing Committees meetings may have to take place in 
the communities rather than all of them taking place in the Legislature. It is my view that our having a Rule that allows the public to 
attend our meetings, while they do not in practice attend these meetings, necessitates the revival of a the decision of the First Term to 
have committee meetings at venues within the communities. The English idiom :"If Mohammed will not go to the mountain, then the mountain 
must go to Mohammed" is true in this case.

A system to ensure broader participation by the public in Public Hearings on Matters and Bills referred to Committees is currently being 
developed. The idea would be to involve each and every Member on visits to his or her constituency, to obtain each constituencys views on 
such matters and all views will then be collated and synthesized in one document.

The Legislature should further forge partnerships with Local Government structures in order to have an integrated approach in ensuring that 
there is maximum public participation and sustainability. The Legislature needs, as a matter of urgency, to forge permanent working 
relationships with the Local Government Structures in the spirit of co-operative governance in ensuring effective facilitation of public 
involvement. The Public Participation Unit in the Legislature should forge links with the following Local Government Structures:

* District Councils
* Local Councils
* Ward Committees

In order to realise the above objective, Public Participation Forums could be established consisting of Constituency Office staff, District 
Councils, Local Councils and Community Based Organisations and co-ordinated by MPLs. Constituency offices and co-ordinating MPLs should 
play a pivotal role in these Forums. These Forums should be structured in line with the current districts as demarcated by the Demarcation 
Board. The main functions of these Forums should be:

* Facilitating public participation in Local and Provincial government including preparation for Open Day and Public Hearings.
* Making follow up on issues raised by communities to government structures.
* Reporting back to communities on Legislature and government programmes pertaining to service delivery and poverty alleviation.
* Attending Standing Committee meetings on behalf of the community. This will include, for example, meetings where the budget is discussed.

An important objective in respect of external communications is more effective interaction between the Legislature and communities at grass-
roots level. Over and above the formal public participation programmes, there is a need to improve liaison with constituency offices, and 
attention is being given to keeping constituency offices abreast of matters that affect the local communities - specifically through the 
provision and dissemination of information through the constituency offices, the and community and other radio stations. Important 
documents such as transcripts of debates and standing committee reports which relate to specific communities and dealing for instance with 
cholera outbreaks, or banking services in rural areas should be disseminated to the affected communities.

1.3 Standing Committees

1.3.1 Oversight

The MEC for Finance commended the Legislature for its vigorous oversight. This has again been proved during the past few weeks when 
oversight reports of Standing Committees were debated in the House. It was clear that both the Legislature and MECs regarded the financial 
oversight in a serious light with a shared vision to improve financial management in the Province and to enhance governance for better 
delivery.

However, much more can be done to achieve more effective and efficient financial oversight. Standing Committees should receive monthly 
financial oversight reports and consider these reports monthly. The Standing Committees should then compile monthly reports on financial 
oversight and when the House meets to consider financial oversight, these monthly reports can simply be collated into one report for a 
specific period and published for debate.

Monthly oversight will ensure continuous accountability and identification of problems before they get out of hand.

In order to broaden the base of this assessment, investigations are at an advanced stage with a view to establishing how Information 
Technology can enhance the Standing Committees access to performance-related information held by the Executive so as to better interrogate 
the same when being subjected to oversight.

The finalisation of matters by Committees within a reasonable time seems to be problematic due to a variety of factors. A discussion 
document on a performance management system for Standing Committees with guidelines for proper planning, action plans, time frames and 
monitoring of Bills and matters referred to Standing Committees was tabled to the Committee of Chairpersons at its last meeting. This 
document will be considered at the next meeting of the Committee of Chairpersons and should be adopted as a matter of urgency.

Key success factors or action steps are for them to work together with departments rather than be mere referees whose whistle is only heard 
when a mistake has to be re-looked at. I suppose this is the spirit of co-operative governance the Constitution bestows upon us.

The Chairperson of Committees and his Deputy will have to play a crucial role in monitoring Committees and in ensuring integrated planning 
for Committee work, as Standing Committees are the engine room of the legislative process.

Our aim, and indeed our approach, should be reviewed to, without compromising rules, co-work and co-solve problems rather than just report 
about them. It was pleasing to read oversight reports where all the recommendations of a Standing Committee were carried out by a 
department - steadily but surely we are achieving something. A shoulder to shoulder approach - "Tell me, and I will forget. Show me and I 
will remember. Involve me and I will understand." (Confucius) should be followed

Another area identified for empowerment is the management of the audit processes. A discussion document was developed by my office and 
after inputs from all stakeholders, including the Auditor-General, referred to the Public Accounts Committee for consideration. Once 
adopted, Standing Committees, through my office, will have access to the management letters and the relevant action areas when these 
letters are discussed by the Auditor-General and departments. This will go a long way towards realising the economic, effective and 
efficient utilisation of public funds and resources, in terms of the PFMA. It will further help us all to evaluate our progress - remember, 
prevention is better than cure.

We further have to have a mechanism of ensuring that the target beneficiaries of programmes of the Executive Council audit the delivery 
thereof as part of our oversight system. Such a system of social audit will assist in assessing the impact of policies and legislation on 
the lives of the people at grassroots level.

This should go a long way towards assisting us to realise the nation-building principle in our Vision and Mission Statement.

1.3.2 Committee budgets

Progress was made in having separate budgets for Standing Committees during the past financial year. However, this area should improve 
because a detailed budget for each committee will ensure efficient, effective and economical use of the resources of the Legislature.

A detailed budget will have to be preceded by proper planning by Committees for this new financial year to ensure that the budget of each 
Committee is commensurate with the planned activities. The Speakers Financial Regulations prescribe the process for arriving at each 
Committees budget as well as regular reviewal thereof. These regulations must be implemented.

The representation of the Chairperson of Committees on the Legislatures budget committee would assist in ensuring that the cake available 
for Committee work is equitably divided, while having each Chairperson of a Committee as a budget holder and programme manager to foster 
accountability and responsible expenditure.

1.3.3 Standing Committee Empowerment

In order to ensure that our Standing Committees function at maximum efficiency it is necessary to empower the members of Standing 
Committees. To this end we are planning to send delegations of Standing Committees to other Legislatures to study matters of specific 
interest to the portfolio for which a Committee is responsible. Management has been requested to make provision in the budget for such 
visits. It will not be possible to send all Committees in one financial year, but Committees were requested to include proposals on visits 
and the costs thereof in their budget planning in order to prioritise these visits.

Training for Committees, especially in the field of planning and managing committee activities is also envisaged. A training proposal has 
been submitted to the Committee of Chairpersons for consideration.

1.3.4 Anti-corruption Campaign

The second term of democracy saw a commitment from both the Executive and the Legislature to intensify anti-corruption strategies. 
According to the respective constitutional mandates, each sphere put in place a specific body to fight corruption.

The Network Against Corruption is an expression of the Legislatures desire to work with other stakeholders, especially the RSA 
Constitutionss Chapter 9 institutions, to co-ordinate information about corruption and anti-corruption activities.

The, now dissolved, Standing Committee on Public Participation and Petitions used to perform the oversight on anti-corruption issues. Now 
that that Committee has been dissolved, the oversight function on anti-corruption issues has been decentralised to the various Standing 
Committees.

In performing their oversight functions and holding the Executive accountable in terms of Section 114 of the Constitution, Standing 
Committees will have to ensure that they maintain oversight on the fight by each department against corruption. The Network will serve as a 
resource to Committees to assist in their anti-corruption oversight in the same way that the Public Accounts Committee is assisted by the 
Auditor-General.

Public hearings were held during the 2000/2001 financial year to appraise communities of the structures available for reporting corruption 
and sensitising them on the anti-corruption initiatives of the government and the Legislature. The follow-through approach should also be 
followed in this important area, and feed-back meetings should be held with communities during May 2001.

1.3.5 NCOP

The Provinces participation in the NCOPs legislative and other processes is an area that should be improved upon to ensure that the 
Provinces interests are highlighted and taken note of at a National level. Permanent Delegates and some of the Leaders of the Legislature 
recently had a meeting to discuss measures to improve the Provinces participation in the NCOP.

A system of interaction between the Province and Permanent Delegates of the Province on all matters required by the NCOP is in the process 
of being developed. This system should contain elements to ensure the monitoring and measuring of the effectiveness of the Legislatures 
participation in the NCOP.

The long-awaited IT Programme, which will result in our Legislature making use of the NCOP online process, will also be phased in this 
year. These systems should ensure enhanced performance of the Province in the NCOP processes.

The NCOP Business Committee and the Committee of Chairpersons will have to play a crucial role in ensuring the implementation of the above 
system.

1.4 Law-making

The Executive Council did not submit enough legislation to clear the Statue Book of the old homeland and offensive legislation which is 
still prevalent in our Province. The House adopted Rules on Private Member Bills during the past financial year. Members and Committees are 
not making use of their power to initiate and introduce legislation by way of Private Members Bills in terms of these rules.

However, I am aware of the Standing Committee on Finances involvement in the development of a Bill to provide for a procedure to amend a 
money bill. Their efforts must be applauded. More such initiatives should be taken by Standing Committees and I wish to encourage Standing 
Committees to engage Provincial Departments on the development of Legislation.



2. HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

To put Human Resource Development in the correct perspective I would like to quote from President Thabo Mbekis Opening Address to 
Parliament on 25 June 1999:

"A historic document of the people of our country asserts that as a consequence of the victory of the struggle for national liberation, the 
doors of education and learning shall be open to all.

Many people, including our youth, died and sacrificed for the realisation of this objective. They did so because they understood the 
importance for themselves and all our communities of the right to freedom of ignorance.

Consistent with this correct view, we must ensure that education and training constitute the decisive drivers in our effort to build a 
winning nation"

With globalisation having turned the world into one village, and with it the transportation of ideas, I believe that, in line with our 
Constitutional objectives of HRD, experiential and exposure learning are critical for the realisation of this objective. The old Xhosa 
idiom (iqhalo) ukuhamba kukubona, intonga entle ikhiwa ezizweni" exudes wisdom.

Towards realising our strategic objective of empowering especially women and youth, we have in our new organogram an Organisational 
Efficiency and Special Programmes directorate. Their sole mandate is to devise programmes and source their funding so as to ensure that 
these vulnerable sections of the community are empowered in action through various projects etc. This area needs experienced and mature 
people so that there is no competition but co-operation between the Legislature and other spheres of government towards an integrated 
service delivery processes.

Since the commencement of the Second Term, our MPLs have followed human resource development programmes, according to the Personal 
Development Profiles (PDPs) that they completed at the Induction. These successes are a source of strength in our pursuit of PDPs for all 
our MPLs.

Building on this foundation, we further have tasked the Organisational Efficiency directorate to devise, together with the Organisational 
Development directorate , PDPs aimed at capacitating MPLs. The success factors of these programmes will be readiness of MPLs to be deployed 
anywhere instead of putting all their hopes in the Legislature - an expansion of a skills-based approach for politicians.

The HRD Sub-Committee of the South African Speakers Forum, which I chair, is on the verge of finalising a Senior Executive Leadership 
Programme for Presiding Officers, Whips, Chairpersons of Committees and other MPLs of South Africa. This programme is intended to be 
certified and could lead to a formal educational qualification, possibly up to masters or doctorate level. Our approach is one of 
empowering people for employability rather than for employment. We shall make announcements in due course.

Furthermore, the Executive Leadership Programme for Secretaries to Legislatures and National Parliament is taking off in April this year. 
Our Legislature will send four senior Managers to participate in and benefit from this programme, worth over R1m, funded by the EUPSP. 
Exchange programmes are also envisaged for the training and development of staff. This should signal to all, as our President Mbeki said, 
that "we are a nation at work".(Opening Address to Parliament on 25 June 1999)

The Legislature stays in tune with international trends, not only through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, its research base and 
its existing donor programmes, but also through visits from foreign delegations. Already this year, the Legislature has hosted a visit from 
Lower Saxonys parliamentarians. This visit, aside from the welding of relationships, aimed at looking at practical approaches to 
international, inter-Legislature co-operation. They invited staff to be sent to their Legislature for training in intergovernmental 
relations, and processes similar to our NCOP processes. We aim to use this opportunity to improve the skills of staff and Members.

The Legislature will host a delegation from China later this year, and in view of the existing ties that this province has with China, 
especially at local government level, looks forward to cementing these ties in the spirit of co-operative governance. The Legislature 
should again explore what we can learn from the institutions that these delegations come from.

Clearly, a key area of foreign visits is to be able to reciprocate and the Legislature is challenged to forge ways of exposing our MPLs to 
the growth that international visits afford.



3. ADMINISTRATION

3.1 Staffing

I am pleased to advise that the rationalisation process is at its final stages. Much progress, through the tireless efforts of the Change 
Management Team, the Advisory Board and Executive Management, has been made with the result that Phase 1 of the organogram (Management 
Level) is, except for one (1) or two (2) posts, filled. The entire staffing, as we have planned, should be finalised by the end of April 
2001. We shall, in our budget allocation, be biased towards HRD for Staff and Members. Such staffing, informed by representativity 
requirements of our Provincial Legislature Finance and Administration Act, 1999, the Employment Equity Act, is likely to be at a 50/50 
split between men and women.

This is a considerable improvement on our previous structure where, overall, women were represented at 33% and only at Director and Deputy 
Director level. A challenge which I am confident we shall manage successfully, through our Employment Equity Plan, is to have a fair 
representation of people with disabilities - the progress on making the environment friendly to this category is a sure indicator.

Our new Management structure consists of 14 Managers, of whom 12 had been appointed or absorbed. Of the 12 Managers, 8 are black and 4 are 
white. Our Province being 93% black (Stats SA, report no. 03-0112, 1996), I think this is a commendable step. Furthermore, the fact that 
77 % are from the previously disadvantaged groups (PDG) is a definite reversal of the imbalances of the past.

At the beginning of June 2001, all stakeholders agreed that no retrenchment of staff should take place in the rationalization process. This 
position was adopted by the relevant Legislature leadership structures, including Executive Management of the Legislature.

Every stakeholder agreed to the process and no complaint on the process and the principles contained therein was received until absorptions 
and appointments were made in terms of the process. Only after these appointments were made did a smear campaign emerged against the 
Legislature, its leadership and structures. False accusations of fraud, embezzlement, mismanagement of funds and corruption were made and a 
call was made to halt the process and reverse all appointments.

This smear campaign smacks of opportunism and it is not aimed at resolving issues at all. I fail to see how these accusations can be linked 
to a call to halt and reverse the process. If there is any merit in these accusations, some of which have already been investigated or can 
be investigated, why should this derail the process of rationalisation, agreed to by all the stakeholders, instead of having the fit and 
proper structures of our democratic government, as enshrined in the Constitution, ignited to deal with the issues? It is strange that those 
who make these allegations seem less keen to make use of these structures. I wonder why.

In a further strange twist of events, the Legislature is being blamed for not including the possibility of retrenchments in the 
rationalization process. This is something of a contradiction, as employee organisations and employees are usually opposed to any 
retrenchments. The Legislature intends to honour its commitment of no retrenchments, but it is considering options in managing the 
situation of excess staff. Opinions are currently being sought from labour experts to manage the situation. However, we are aware of how 
voluntary severance packages have been abused in corrupt ways by opportunistic individuals in the government in the recent past. We hope 
that the call by individuals for packages and a halt to the rationalization process is not informed by such motives.

If they are, I wish to reiterate what President Thabo Mbeki, said in his well known and famous speech, entitled "I am an African" :

"I am born of a people who would not tolerate oppression. I am of a nation that would not allow that fear of death, torture, imprisonment, 
exile or persecution should result in the perpetuation of injustice. The great masses who are our mother and father will not permit that 
the behaviour of the few results in the description of our country and people as barbaric"[or corrupt]; (my emphasis) (speech at the 
occasion of the adoption by the Constitutional Assembly of the Republic of South Africa Bill, 1996 on 8 May 1996)

Further, it must be remembered that, I quote:

"The society (Ethos) we seek to replace entrenched corruption in all areas of human activity informed by the notion that the concepts of 
right and wrong are dead and therefore, that everything that serves my personal interest is permissible". (my emphasis) (Thabo Mbekis 
first speech as President in Parliament on 25 June 1999)

I wish to reiterate that the Legislature is still excited and ready to shape the administration to best support the core business of the 
Legislature. Executive Management, in consultation and with the support of the relevant structures, will not be influenced by forces with 
own interests, but continue to manage the process to the benefit of the institution.

I want to assure Members and staff of the Legislature that genuine concerns, submitted through the correct channels, will not be ignored 
and will, where possible, be addressed humanely.

3.2 Grading and Remuneration

The Legislatures salaries, especially at certain levels/categories, have been a cause of our ridicule and embarrassment for too long. 
While we have arrested this problem in our salary increases last year, we have, through a scientific grading and remuneration system, whose 
determining structures involved Legislature stakeholders, pronounced on the real state of affairs. Such a report was tabled in our Advisory 
Board on 06 March 2001.

The report shows that the Legislatures pay curve, a copy of which is attached, compared to any other comparable employer, is totally out 
of shape and therefore does not conform to modern remuneration trends. The curve shows that in certain categories the Legislatures 
remuneration is almost 200% ( or double) that of the national norm and it is clear from this report that serious management of this matter 
will have to be done. It goes without saying that rectifying the pay curve of the Legislature will be painful and not without tensions. 
However, what must be done must be done and I want to take a quote from the Honourable Premiers speech at the Opening of the House of 
Traditional Leaders on 9 March 2001 when he said (in a different context, but with the same meaning): "But we must do what is right even if 
it hurts".

We must remember "Champions make decisions that create the future they desire while losers make decisions that create the present they 
desire". (One Minute Pocket Bible for Men, 1984, pg 33). We need to stop looking at where we have been and start looking at where we can 
be.

I am confident with the decisive administrative leadership we have in the Secretary to the Legislature and his team, our Union and the sure 
political guidance they receive from our Politicians in the Change Management Team, we shall overcome and salvage our institution from this 
problem. The various options agreed to by the Change Management Team as adopted by the Board and approved by Executive Management, will be 
the tools, among others, that will inform our approach to solving this challenge.

3.3 Monitoring and Control Systems

In December of last year we were amongst a very few state organs in the province to install the Basic Accounting System (BAS). The 
Personnel Salary System (Persal) was also installed for our Human Resources Management. The R2m provided for in the budget for these 
purposes will strengthen the systems for sound financial management of the Legislature. These will go a long way towards improving the 
payment security and achieving our financial and human resource related information needs.

We have also purchased an electronic Asset Management System - a giant step to complying with PFMA.

We have rationalised our equipment (photocopiers, faxes, etc) resulting in effective and economic utilisation of the same. We have 
installed a Telephone Management System which should help ensure that all users are accountable for their usage of Legislature resources. 
The current contract we have with Fedics resulted in financial savings of 55% to the Legislature on this item. By April 2001 we shall have 
changed the financing of cellphones by introducing a system where each user has a contract with the Service Provider. This will ensure that 
we spend no more than we have budgeted on this item and protect the image of the Legislature and all. We are informed by the principle that 
there is nothing as useless as to do, however efficiently, that which should not have been done in the first place. Continuing this search 
is what remains to be done. We shall spare no effort in maximising our savings in all areas of our operations. Thus we welcome the 
criticism from some circles that "we are champions of savings". This is a positive statement.



4. CHALLENGES FOR THE NEXT FINANCIAL YEAR

The following are amongst the challenges that emanate from the above successes

4.1 Performance Management System - This is critical to attach equity in pay as we have introduced performance-linked salary increases for 
Managers;

4.2 Improving our Information Technology System - a recent evaluation has revealed that our computer systems are antiquated, that we have 
no IT strategy in place which makes us lack the efficiency that comes with this and leads to low staff morale

The ideal is to link Members electronically to their constituency offices, to have our own server and website and to provide MPLs with the 
necessary equipment and software.

4.3 Implementation of the PFMA - the current amendments to the Act, currently worked by all the Legislatures and National Parliament has an 
impact on our compliance with this Act. This has to be finalised this year;

4.4 Risk Management - we have to finalise the setting up of an Audit Committee meeting the requirements of the PFMA as well as finalise the 
outsourcing of the Internal Audit function of the Legislature;

4.5 Amendment to the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature Finance and Administration Act and Speakers Financial Regulations - this process, 
having been started, must also be finalised this year;

4.6 Human Resource Development - This area has been characterised by ad-hoc and reactionary intervention without proper planning and 
programmes. With the new Organisational Development Directorate, as well as Organisational Efficiency and Special Programme Directorate, we 
have to improve on this, starting this year. The financial support we have from the EU for which we are grateful, as well as the 1% in 
terms of the Skills Levies Act, will be of great help.



5. LEGISLATURE IMAGE

With the Adjustments Appropriation Bill allocation, we shall now be able to attend to our image and environmental security issues. We are 
further pleased with the Circular 47/2000 from Provincial Treasury, which requires each Department, including the Legislature, in line with 
one-stop service delivery systems, to take responsibility for budgeting for their own:

* transport
* furniture
* capital infrastructure,
* capital maintenance,
* security requirements etc.

The House Ethics Committee, as required by the Legislatures adopted Code of Ethics was appointed by the House on 2 March 2001. The Code of 
Ethics will now be operationalised to ensure that the integrity of the Legislature and ethical conduct as required by the ethos of the 
Constitution are protected. The Code of Ethics should be seen in a positive light to protect Members from accusations of unethical and 
corrupt conduct. If a Member has declared interests and such interests are open to scrutiny, having the interests registered could never be 
said to be corrupt.

A workshop for Members on the declaration of interests and requirements of the Code of Ethics will be arranged soon.

This is the challenge to which we shall rise.



6. BUDGET OF THE LEGISLATURE

We welcome the Legislatures budgetary allocation of R68,902 million. That the Legislature has been allocated that which it requested must 
be applauded because, in our view, it shows the confidence that the Cabinet Budget Committee has in the Legislatures financial management 
and our stance that what we require is indeed what we faithfully believe we need. It must also be noted that this allocation is more or 
less the same as the R68,805 million allocation in the 2000/2001 budget.

The Legislatures budget remains a consumption budget.

The nature of the Legislatures activities is such that the budget is dominated (81%) by personnel expenditure. Personnel expenditure, 
however, must be understood as an embodiment of all remuneration-related costs for MECs and MPLs (R28m or 40%) and staff (R28,442m or 41% 
before the restructuring of Management and R25m, or 37% after restructuring of Management). The remaining 23% or R15,902m is allocated to 
non-personnel expenditure. This includes the funding of Constituency Offices for Political Parties. Of the R5,5m, R1,5m is ring-fenced to 
be spent on staff development and capacity building, R2m prioritised non personnel expenditure and R2m on the roll-out of BAS.



7. CONCLUSION

The budget allocation should be adequate to ensure that the Legislature performs its constitutional mandate. This mandate, especially the 
oversight mandate, will at times cause tensions - which is healthy for good governance. The challenge facing the Legislature and the 
Executive is to manage these tensions to assist delivery and not to become involved conflict.

I wish to thank especially the Deputy Speaker and other Presiding Officers, the Chief Whip and the Whips Committee, the Advisory Board, 
other structures and the Members of the Legislature for their unwavering support. I also wish to thank the Secretary to the Legislature, 
management and staff for their services and support. Overall, I think this Legislature can be proud of itself.

Lastly, I believe, as was said - and I quote: " The challenge remains for all of us to get to know the real South Africa and, in this 
context, to fight back to defeat a frame of mind which drives some among us to hope and pray for failure and to celebrate such failure 
whenever it has occurred, or when we have convinced ourselves that it has occurred". (Thabo Mbeki - 25 June 1999)

I thank you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Home | About the Eastern Cape | Documents
 Economy | Structures | International Relations | Site Map
 Premier's Office | Speeches & Media Releases | Links
 Top of Page

---------------------------------------------------------------------

About the Eastern Cape

Premier's Office

Structures

Documents

Speeches & Media Releases

International Relations

Economy

Links


