Parliament - The Independent Panel Assessment of Parliament Report has recommended that Parliament reopen the debate on the Strategic Defence Procurement Package.
The report, a culmination of recommendations made following a panel assessment of Parliament's performance, was received in Parliament by National Assembly Speaker Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde on Tuesday.
Among the recommendations included in the report, the panel suggested that Parliament learn from the arms deal or Strategic Defence Procurement investigations and reopen a debate on the matter.
As part of the Strategic Defence Procurement package, the Department of Defence purchased top-end weaponry including four new, high-tech frigates - sometimes also referred to as Corvettes - as well as three new submarines, military Airbus aircraft, helicopters and the ultra-modern Gripen fighter jets.
Many South African companies played a role in manufacturing some elements of the Airbuses, and have also had a role in producing parts used in the frigates and submarines, among other equipment purchased.
Controversy has surrounded the arms deal, and allegations in the media have included former President Mbeki receiving a bribe of R30 million from the German shipbuilding company MAN Ferrostaal, to ensure it would receive a submarine contract in the arms deal.
Dr Govender said the controversies surrounding the arms deal had done a lot of damage to the Legislature.
She said the panel affirmed that Parliament had a central role to play in combating corruption within all state organs, and that Parliament should consider the lessons that emerged from the arms deal investigation process.
The arms deal should not be considered only as an issue of alleged corruption, but should also raise questions regarding Parliament's role in reflecting the priorities of the institution as well as those of South African citizens in general, said Ms Govender.
The panel has also recommended that the impact of the list electoral system as it is currently structured in South Africa as well as potential alternative systems, be given consideration in Parliament.
The view of the panel was that the current electoral system should be replaced by a mixed system which attempts to capture the benefits of both the constituency-based and proportional representation electoral systems.
The report further highlighted Parliament's weak oversight processes and recommended that an extensive monitoring process be put in place to ensure that the recommendations of the Oversight Model find expression in Parliamentary processes.
The panel also felt there was a need for Parliament to explore reasons behind the institution's poor record in initiating legislation and addressing the capacity gaps that contributed to this and that there was a need for Parliament to take steps to improve the quality and substance of debate within the institution in order to increase the efficacy of Parliament in fulfilling its constitutional functions of providing a forum for debate of national importance.
Among the recommendations, the report also stated that Parliament must develop a media strategy to ensure that the institution's engagement with the media contributed to public awareness of debates taking place in Parliament.
The panel also recommended that the structures around constituency work should be comprehensively reviewed and assessed and that Parliament develop a guidebook to cover the principles and requirements of the public hearing process directed to chairpersons and members of committees.
"The Panel noted that a guidebook for MPs on their roles and responsibilities had been developed. It is important for this guidebook to be made available in all official languages as well as Braille," said the report.
The reduction in the budget allocated for public affairs was of concern to the panel and should be investigated.
National Assembly Speaker Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, welcomed the review, and said it would be handed over to the Fourth Parliament as high priority.
She added that in the two years that the review had been underway Parliament had already started to do things to improve its processes and that a number of recommendations had already been adhered to in that time.
The panel responsible for the review, comprised of top South African figures including Supreme Court Advocate Selby Baqwa; Colin Eglin, a retired Member of Parliament; Judith February of the Parliamentary Monitoring Group; John Kane-Berman, the Chief Executive Officer of the SA Institute of Race Relations and Koko Mashigo, Commissioner of the Public Service Commission, amongst others.
Parliament established the 11-member panel in December 2006 and selected politically diverse individuals known for independent thought to ensure the assessment of Parliament and its procedures was critical.
Dr Govender said that the report reflected a willingness by Members of Parliament to engage with criticism of the institution and themselves, as the leaders of that institution, in the quest to strengthen Parliament.
She said the report was a consensus even though the panel had included so many diverse individuals.
South Africa is the only Parliament in the world to have commissioned such an independent assessment as well as make the contents public, said Dr Govender.
