'SA parliament like Haiti'

Cape Town - ANC members chairing committees in parliament have serious misgivings as to whether they are able to exercise the power of review over financial legislation they were accorded in 2009.

The 30-odd ANC chairpersons (of a total of 50) who attended a working session on the new legislation concur that they in no way possess the skills or resources required to assume a supervisory role. They fear that doing so could possibly lead to legal challenges.

The members pleaded for training because most of the 454 MPs in parliament are new and, as one remarked, not accountants.

Joan Fubbs, who chairs the portfolio committee on trade and industry put it this way: parliament's resources basically resemble those of Haiti - a country destroyed by earthquake two weeks ago.

Previously, in terms of a Constitutional provision, only the Minister of Finance could submit financial legislation on budgets and taxation. But the Constitution also requires the introduction of legislation on a procedure to amend financial legislation.

Thus, after years of difficulties, the act was promulgated in April last year and for the first time allowed MPs and the broad public to participate in the budgetary process.

It would seem that the extension of parliament's role of oversight of fiscal policy could aggravate the tension that already exists between the executive and the legislative authority.

Fatima Chohan, who chairs the committee on basic education, believes the executive authority will no longer be able to "ignore" parliament.

- Sake24.com

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