10th November 2009

Today, in breach of parliamentary rules, the Chairman of the Finance Committee T.A Mufamadi ruled that the IFP could not mention in the joint Committees Report on the Medium Terms Budget Policy Statement [MTBPS] the views which IFP Leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi publically expressed on the MTBPS and the status of the economy. 

The Committees' Report accepted the submission received from the Minister, the Deputy Minister and certain participants in the public hearings, and the MTBPS' assumptions, projections, parameters and approach. IFP MP MGR Oriani-Ambrosini insisted that this is not correct without mentioning two of IFP's main concerns. Under the Rules of the National Assembly minority views must be reported in any report dealing with legislation, as this is the report which motivates and explains the Adjustment Bill 

The IFP wanted the Committee report to record the two IFP concerns, namely  

- The IFP dissociates itself from the MTBPS' total reliance on the economy turning around this fourth quarter and maintaining a high rate of sustained economic growth for the next three years, which we do not believe to be the case.  This way too optimistic scenario is pegged on selected positive signs and on underplaying many signs which suggests that the depression will continue next year 

- The IFP criticizes the MTBPS' failure to make required structural adjustments to create a globally competitive industrial basis and cut on chronic problems, such as the non-performing or under-performing sectors of the parastatal and non-globally economically viable sectors artificially propped up with subsidies and at huge taxpayers expense. 

The Chairman ruled that these two simple paragraphs could not be recorded in a 10 page Report because the rest of the Committees did not share them.  This turns Parliament into the venue where only majority views are held and recorded and spells out the failure of democracy and public discourse.