House Chair, the ACDP takes note of the report and the sincere efforts undertaken to improve Parliament’s performance in respect of lawmaking, oversight and public participation.
As far as the funding model is concerned, we, as the ACDP, previously raised concerns which are now repeated in the report about Parliament being funded in the same manner as government departments.
We agree that it is untenable for Parliament to be reliant on the very Executive it is obliged to hold to account for its budget. The State Capture Commission has raised a similar concern and recommended this weakness be attended to.
The ACDP also shares concerns with the slow progress in negotiations towards the funding process which is appropriate for Parliament as a separate arm of state. This remains a grave concern as it impacts on Parliament’s ability to execute its constitutional obligations. And we agree that the collaboration between Parliament and the Financial and Fiscal Commission towards developing a solution to this should be fast-tracked to resolve this funding issue before the end of this Parliament.
We welcome the unqualified audit outcome with no material findings, but the recommendations of the Auditor-General and Audit Committee must be implemented and reported on, on a regular basis.
Lastly, the ACDP welcomes the development and piloting of the Legislative Impact Assessment Framework. Reviewing the impact of legislation that has already been passed will ensure that Parliament is able to identify and address shortcomings in the legislative process. This will contribute to Parliament having a positive impact on the lives of all South Africans.
Previously, we had the pre-legislation socio-economic assessment studies (through the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) by the Presidency. This move now will be post-legislation, which is to be welcomed.
The ACDP supports the report.
I thank you.
