The Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, No 9 of 2009 as promulgated by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 April 2009, provides for a procedure to amend money bills before parliament. The act also provides for norms and standards for the amendment of such bills before the provincial legislatures.
In compliance with the Act, the presiding officers workshop on money bills was conducted with all the members of parliament. Subsequent to the said workshop, a need arose for the establishment of a budget office in parliament of the Republic of South Africa. The first step towards the establishment of such an office started with the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces; Honourable MJ Mahlangu, leading a delegation of eight members and five officials on a study tour to countries whose parliaments already have such offices in place.
The study tour was conducted from 29 November to 10 December 2010 in countries from the southern Africa region to Europe - starting in the Republic of Kenya, then the Federal Republic of Germany and, lastly, to the Kingdom of Sweden, the country that boasts formal and trade relations dating back to the 1930s with the Republic of South Africa.
Issues for consideration during the study tour included: The role and capacity of legislatures in budget processes with specific reference to functions of agencies established to assist and advise the members of parliament.
- The extent of amendment powers in the other parliaments and their relations with other branches and agencies of the state.
- The capacity, functions and the extent of the independence of the budget offices and its relations with political leadership and parliamentary secretariat.
- The role of parliamentary committees and how they interact with each other in the budget processes, and the level of public participation and engagement with civil society during budget proceedings.
- The nature and extent of skills required to support such an office
- The location of the office and its relationship with members of parliament, Presiding Officers and Secretariat.
The second leg of the study tour will be undertaken to a different set of countries by Hon. MV Sisulu; Speaker of the National Assembly in January 2011. Thereafter, the reports of both study tours will be consolidated after being processed by the relevant bodies in the institution. The report will assist Parliament to put into place a model that is suitable to the institution and the Republic of South Africa.
The experiences and information put together during both study tours will serve as guidelines to Presiding Officers and Members of Parliament of the RSA, in establishing the budget office.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Mathutha Masimula
Cell: 082 652 0252
Tel: 021 403 8824
