Part 8: Committees in Parliament
Most of the work of Parliament is done by committees. Committees are the places where members of the public can express their opinions directly and try to influence the outcome of Parliament’s decisions. Committee meetings are open to the public, although they may be closed for very good reasons.
Parliament does its work in plenary sessions (where the members of a house meet in one group), in joint sittings (where both houses meet as one group), and in committees (smaller groups of members). The plenary groups of the two houses form specialised committees and give them responsibility for certain tasks. Working in committees allows Parliament to:
increase the amount of work that can be done (it is more efficient for a large group to delegate its work to smaller groups than to try to do it all in a single group)
ensure that issues can be debated in more depth than can be done in plenary sessions (because more time is available to concentrate on details)
increase the participation of members of Parliament (MPs) in discussions (more members of a group can participate in a discussion when the group is small)
enable MPs to develop expertise and in-depth knowledge of the committee’s area of work
provide a forum for the public to present its views directly to MPs, something which is not possible in a plenary sitting of Parliament
provide a forum for Parliament to hear evidence and collect documents which are relevant to the work of a specific committee.
Committees have to report to the plenary group which has appointed them, and certain decisions they make must be ratified by the plenary group. For example, once a committee has considered a bill, the bill must be debated and voted on in the house.
Spotlight on Parliament issues 3, 4 and 5 explain the different roles the National Assembly and the NCOP and their committees play. Committees are, in general, proportionately representative of the parties in Parliament.
The work of committees
Different kinds of committees have one or more of the following functions:
– they monitor and oversee the work of government departments and hold them accountable
– they oversee the accounts of government departments and state institutions
– they take care of domestic parliamentary issues
– they examine specific areas of public life or matters of public interest
– they consider bills and amend them, and they may initiate bills
– they consider private members’ legislative proposals and special petitions
– they consider international treaties and agreements.
Committees have the power to summon any person to appear before them, give evidence or produce documents, they may require any person or institution to report to them, and they may receive petitions, representations or submissions from the public. They play a crucial role in the lawmaking process described in Spotlight 6.
Domestic committees
The National Assembly has a number of domestic committees normally consisting of senior members which deal with matters affecting the smooth running of Parliament. The Rules Committee and its sub-committees deal with House rules, the budget of the House, support for members, internal arrangements, and powers and privileges of members.
There is also a Rules sub-committee dealing with delegated legislation (when Parliament delegates its lawmaking authority to ministers by allowing them to make regulations in terms of an Act of Parliament). Other domestic committees are the programme committee which plans the work of the National Assembly, the disciplinary committee, and the committee of chairpersons.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has its own domestic committees. The Rules Committee and its sub-committees deal with the NCOP rules, the NCOP budget, parliamentary privileges, internal arrangements, international relations and delegated legislation. The programme committee plans the work of the NCOP and the committee of chairpersons makes recommendations about the functioning of committees and other NCOP forums.
Portfolio committees
The National Assembly appoints from among its members a number of portfolio committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments. Each committee has between 17 and 19 full members, and a number of alternate members. Portfolio committees consider bills, deal with departmental budget votes, oversee the work of the department they are responsible for, and enquire and make recommendations about any aspect of the department, including its structure, functioning and policy. The work of committees is not restricted to government – they may investigate any matter of public interest which falls within their area of responsibility. For example, in 1999 the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry held an investigation into bank charges and interest rates. At the moment there are 26 portfolio committees, one for each of the national ministries and their associated government departments:
-arts, culture, science and technology
-agriculture and land affairs
-communications
-correctional services
-defence
-education
-environmental affairs and tourism
-finance
-foreign affairs
-health
-home affairs
-housing
-justice and constitutional affairs
-labour
-minerals and energy
-provincial and local government
-public enterprises
-public service and administration
-public works
-safety and security
-sport and recreation
-trade and industry
-transport
-water affairs and forestry
-welfare and population development.
Select committees
The NCOP appoints from its permanent members a number of select committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments and to deal with bills. Each committee has between 13 and 15 full members. Because the NCOP only has 54 permanent members compared to the National Assembly’s 400, the select committees shadow the work of more than one government department. For example, the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs shadows the work of the departments of Justice, Provincial and Local Government, Safety and Security, Defence, Correctional Services and Intelligence. At the moment there are ten select committees:
-economic affairs
-education and recreation
-finance
-labour and public enterprises
-land and environmental affairs
-local government and administration
-public services
-security and constitutional affairs
-social services.
Public accounts
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts acts as Parliament’s watchdog over the way taxpayers’ money is spent by the executive. Every year the Auditor-General tables reports on the accounts and financial management of the various government departments and state institutions. Heads of these bodies are regularly called to account by this committee. The committee can recommend that the National Assembly takes corrective action if necessary.
Members’ legislative proposals and petitions
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions considers draft bills submitted by individual National Assembly members and public petitions submitted through a member of the Assembly. If the committee agrees with the principle of the draft bill or petition, a bill will be prepared and dealt with by Parliament in the usual way. As its name suggests, the Select Committee on Members’ and Provincial Legislative Proposals considers draft bills from individual NCOP members and provinces.
Ad hoc (temporary) committees
Whenever there is a need for a specific task to be done, Parliament or one of its houses may appoint an ad hoc committee to do the work. When the task is complete, the committee is dissolved. Examples of issues dealt with by ad hoc committees are investigations into specific laws (like the Open Democracy Bill) or specific issues like gender equality or alleged breaches of parliamentary privilege (Spotlight 3 talks about privilege).
Joint committees
The National Assembly and the NCOP together appoint a number of joint committees, for example, the Constitutional Review Committee. The Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests keeps a register of MPs’ financial interests to help prevent corruption and conflicts of interest. The register includes what MPs own, gifts they have received and any other sources of income they may have. Joint ad hoc committees are formed whenever necessary. When the National Assembly and the NCOP are unable to agree on a bill, the Mediation Committee tries to reach a compromise (see Spotlight 6). The Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence are statutory committees. This means they are established by Acts of Parliament, as well as in terms of the rules of Parliament.
How you can participate in Parliament
The Constitution says that there must be public participation in what goes on in Parliament. You have the right to attend the meetings of parliamentary committees, the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces and the provincial legislatures. You have the right to contact any member of Parliament (MP), member of the provincial legislature (MPL) or committee to tell them your view about an issue they are discussing, or say what you think they should be discussing. Keep yourself informed through newspapers, radio, TV and the Internet so that you can participate in what is going on. The word ‘Parliament’ comes from the word meaning ‘to speak’. Make sure you make your voice heard in Parliament and in the provincial legislatures.
More information
Parliament’s website: http://www.parliament.gov.za
The Parliamentary Monitoring Group website: http://www.pmg.org.za
Calland, R (editor). 1999. The first five years: a review of South Africa’s democratic Parliament. Cape Town: Idasa.
Corder, H et al. 1999. Report on parliamentary oversight and accountability. Cape Town: Parliament.
Classroom activities
Click here for suggested questions, topics for debate and group exercises
– The Teacher/M & G Media, Johannesburg, August 1999.