amendments to money bills on the cards 
07 July 2008

Legislation empowering Parliament to amend money bills including the national budget is expected to be on the statute books before Finance Minister Trevor Manuel tables the government’s 2009-10 revenue and spending plans in February next year.  The finance committee had been instructed to report back to Parliament on the bill by August 15.

Manuel has welcomed the initiative, required by the constitution and has said the parliamentary proposals were not very different to the those he submitted to Parliament in 1997.  One of the problems with which the task team had to grapple was how to reconcile Parliament’s power to amend money bills with the need to maintain the integrity of the fiscal policy stance adopted by the cabinet and the treasury.

Nene said the draft bill addressed this issue by requiring that Parliament adopt a resolution on the fiscal framework in October or November when the medium-term budget policy statement was tabled. This framework would include the budget deficit or surplus and broad departmental allocations.

Any subsequent amendments to the budget would have to take place within the constraints of this framework.

In terms of the draft bill, dedicated committees for both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces would be established to consider all money bills such as the Appropriation Bill based on the budget or department-specific bills . Different procedures would apply for the different types of amendments and the committee would have to work closely with the various portfolio committees on department- specific money bills.

Should the dedicated committee recommend an increase in a budgetary allocation to a particular department or project, it would also have to suggest where the money to fund it should come from within the total budget envelope, Nene said. Parliament would have to adopt the amendment.

The treasury’s three-year budgeting cycle would give the budget committees ample time and information to engage with the budget during its planning and clearing phases and its implementation, Nene said .

Treasury chief director of budget policy Kuben Naidoo said there was still some work to be done on the definition of the fiscal framework and whether this included revenue. The treasury would also be con-cerned that the bill took account of budget planning cycles and the need of departments for allocation certainty so that they could plan accordingly.

Democratic Alliance finance spokesman Kobus Marais said the mechanism for amending money bills should not compromise the sound and prudent fiscal policy for which SA had become well regarded . Inkatha Freedom Party finance spokesman Narend Singh said the proposed amendments represented a more democratic way of dealing with budgetary allocations but stressed the need for close collaboration with the treasury should amendments be proposed.

Linda Ensor,  www.businessday.co.za