If proposals set by Parliament’s Joint Rules Committee (JRC) are accepted, the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) will see the African National Congress (ANC) taking seven of the recommended 16 seats.
The JRC proposals, released yesterday (29 July), are for what it terms “joint structures” meaning public representatives from the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) sit on them.
Only parties holding more than 10 NA seats and “willing to participate” in the JSCD can be named to what is one of the three defence oversight committees in Parliament. The others are the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) – NA – and from the NCOP the Select Committee on Security and Justice (SCSJ).
The new 16-member JSCD counts one more member than its sixth administration predecessor.
Parties eligible for the JSCD in line with NA seats are the African National Congress (ANC) (159), Democratic Alliance (DA) (87), uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) (58), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) (39) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) (17).
Explaining the numbers, the JRC has it “the formula prescribes that the total number of seats occupied by parties with more than 10 seats must be divided by the total number of members on the committee. Although the committee was composed of 15 members in the previous Parliament, if the same composition were to be used in the 7th Parliament, the IFP would not have representation”. If the JSCD has 16 members all parted with more than 10 seats would have representation.
Party-wise, the JSCD make-up will have seven ANC public representatives, four from the DA, two each from the MKP and EFF with one from the IFP.
The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV), meanwhile, has been constituted with representation from six political parties with ANC public representative Dakota Legoete as chair.
The ANC has a majority of seats – four – on the 11-member PCDMV. The DA and uMkhonto weSizwe Party have two seats each. Another two seats are filled by the Economic Freedom Fighters, in the form of Carl Niehaus, and Thandi Nontenja of the United Democratic Movement.
Apart from Legoete, other ANC MPs on the PCDMV are Mzimasi Mike Hala, Azwihangwisi Faith Muthambi and Thokozile Sokanyile.
Delegated to the PCDMV as DA defence and military veterans oversight watchdogs are Chris Hattingh and Maliyakhe Shelembe.
Parliamentary newcomers MKP’s two PCDMV representatives are Edward Ntshingila and a Ms M Mrweqane.
The other PCDMV member is Inkatha Freedom Party public representative Russel Cebekhulu who was also on the previous PCDMV, while Steven Swart (ACDP) is listed as an alternate.
Parliament, through its oversight function, plays a central role in holding the executive to account. The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans is mandated to oversee the Department of Defence and Military Veterans to ensure that the Department fulfils its mandate through the monitoring of the implementation of legislation and adherence to policies, such as the Defence Act (No. 42 of 2002), the White Paper on Defence (1996) and the 1998 Defence Review and the 2015 Defence Review. These policy guidelines assist the Committee in its oversight activities. The Committee scrutinises legislation that supports the mission statement of Government, the budget and functioning of the Department, and the employment of the SANDF.
