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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAPE TOWN 000189 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
RESENDING DUE TO POSSIBLE STRAGGLER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SF
SUBJECT:  PARLIAMENT'S FIRST 100 DAYS-OFF TO A SLOW START 
 
CAPE TOWN 00000189  001.2 OF 002 
 
¶1. (SBU) Parliament's first one hundred days (minus the three week 
recess) has been marked by new MPs finding their way around 
Parliament, both literally and figuratively, inefficiency and lack 
of clear guidance for the task at hand. Because over 60 percent of 
Parliamentarians are new, many MPs are unsure of not only the role 
that Parliament plays in the national arena, but are also uncertain 
as to their own role as Members of Parliament.  The Parliamentary 
session began with each Ministry discussing their budgets and what 
they plan to do with their allocated funds over the upcoming year. 
Some budgets were passed with little debate, while others are still 
pending in committees while the opposition tries to make changes. 
Because the ANC holds a majority of the seats in Parliament with 264 
MPs, all budgets will eventually be passed by the National Assembly 
and those Ministries that are asking for more such as Defense and 
Veterans Affairs will be re-visited in November during the medium 
term budget debate. 
¶2. (SBU) When Poloff recently asked a Member of Parliament to brief 
a visiting Congressional delegation on the role of Parliament; the 
MP was unable to do so because she was new and did not really 
understand how Parliament works.  Even many of the veteran MPs are 
confused as to their roles in Parliament since many of them are 
serving on new committees and do not have any experience in the 
group in which they are now serving. Chris Lancaster, who currently 
serves on the Defense Committee (previously served on Education), 
told Poloff, "I do not know anything about defense, I am still 
learning." 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Over the past several weeks, Poloff attended various 
committee meetings and the sessions are all the same:  MPs are 
trying to figure out what the work of the committee is and the best 
way to carry out that work.  During Poloffs attendance at several 
sessions of the International Relations and Cooperation Committee, 
the committee members have publically said they are not sure of 
their role and not sure of the way forward.  There are only two 
current members who were on the committee previously and one is from 
the Inkatha Freedom Party, a small opposition party. O$&_QHVGabout what outsiders would be allowed to brief the 
committee, but no decision was made.  Recently, former Deputy 
Foreign Minister Fatima Hajig and former chair of the committee, who 
is now a back-bencher, briefed the group on how she perceives the 
role of the committee and what she feels the committee must do. 
Comment.  Most of the committee, even members of her own party (ANC) 
did not seem to heed her remarks.  End comment. Note.  It is unusual 
for a MP who is not part of a particular committee to attend the 
meeting and brief the committee.  End note. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The DA with 67 seats in Parliament is the official 
opposition in Parliament.  Poloff spoke to Sandy Kaylan, a member of 
the DA Shadow Cabinet about the role the DA is playing in Parliament 
and about the role of the newly formed Shadow Cabinet.  Kaylan said 
the Shadow Cabinet plays an oversight role, provides input to the DA 
Qthe Shadow Cabinet plays an oversight role, provides input to the DA 
caucus as to what is happening in their respective committees, and 
discuss the way forward for specific issues and portfolios.  Their 
has only been one Shadow Cabinet meeting since the opening of the 
Fourth Democratic Parliament and at this point their discussions are 
being kept private with possible public disclosure in the future. 
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The DA has also taken a bold step and proposed to Parliament that 
Minister's and MP's air travel be restricted to economy class and 
that there be a reduction on the cost of Ministers vehicles and 
other benefits. In recent weeks the DA has reportedly been in talks 
with COPE, the United Democratic Movement, and the Independent 
Democrats to discuss their "re-alignment" under one party. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The first one hundred days of Parliament have been 
relatively quiet with MPs trying to find their footing.  However, 
one major event is the investigation of Democratic Alliance (DA) 
Shadow Minister for Defense, David Maynier, by the ANC for releasing 
information about possible arms sales to other countries.  On August 
2, DA Shadow Minister for Defense, David Maynier hosted a press 
conference at Parliament where he released information regarding the 
arms trade in South Africa.  Maynier alleged that the National 
Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), made up entirely of ANC 
Ministers and Deputy Ministers, "is arming dictators all over the 
world."  The NCACC is supposed to ensure a legitimate and effective 
process for controlling trade in conventional arms.  If the weapons 
 
CAPE TOWN 00000189  002.2 OF 002 
 
¶1. (SBU) Parliament's first one hundred days (minus the three week 
recess) has been marked by new MPs finding their way around 
Parliament, both literally and figuratively, inefficiency and lack 
of clear guidance for the task at hand. Because over 60 percent of 
Parliamentarians are new, many MPs are unsure of not only the role 
that Parliament plays in the national arena, but are also uncertain 
as to their own role as Members of Parliament.  The Parliamentary 
session began with each Ministry discussing their budgets and what 
they plan to do with their allocated funds over the upcoming year. 
Some budgets were passed with little debate, while others are still 
pending in committees while the opposition tries to make changes. 
Because the ANC holds a majority of the seats in Parliament with 264 
MPs, all budgets will eventually be passed by the National Assembly 
and those Ministries that are asking for more such as Defense and 
Veterans Affairs will be re-visited in November during the medium 
term budget debate. 
¶2. (SBU) When Poloff recently asked a Member of Parliament to brief 
a visiting Congressional delegation on the role of Parliament; the 
MP was unable to do so because she was new and did not really 
understand how Parliament works.  Even many of the veteran MPs are 
confused as to their roles in Parliament since many of them are 
serving on new committees and do not have any experience in the 
group in which they are now serving. Chris Lancaster, who currently 
serves on the Defense Committee (previously served on Education), 
told Poloff, "I do not know anything about defense, I am still 
learning." 
 
could be used to contribute to internal repression, violate human 
rights, violate fundamental freedoms, contribute to the escalation 
of regional conflicts or contribute to terrorism or crime, and then 
the weapons should not be exported.  Maynier alleges that deals have 
either already been authorized with some countries, namely Libya, 
Syria, Venezuela and North Korea and pending with Iran and Zimbabwe. 
 Justice Minister Jeff Radebe who heads up the NCACC, denied that 
any weapons have been sold to these countries, but admitted that 
deals with some of these countries were under consideration.  In 
response to Maynier's accusations, the ANC has asked the National 
Assembly to investigate whether Maynier contravened the National 
Conventional Arms Control Act.  If Maynier is found to have violated 
the act, he could be criminally charged.  The Chair of the Defense 
Committee, Mr. Nyami Booi told Poloff that the ANC has hired a 
lawyer to investigate this matter. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Joan Fubbs, Committee Chair of Trade and Industry, told 
Poloff that the Parliamentary budget is much too low.  Because 
President Zuma expanded the Cabinet, the committees in Parliament 
have also been expanded, but Parliament's budget is not sufficient 
to cover the increase in committees.  Five committees in the 
National Assembly and two committees in the National Council of 
Provinces do not have any support staff and there is no money in the 
current Parliamentary budget to hire any until November when the mid 
term budget is revisited.   On July 2, during the debate on the 
Parliamentary budget, Speaker Max Sisulu said that Parliament's 
budget is .18 percent of the national budget, which is lower than 
all national departments whose budgets range from 0.3 percent to 
48.4 percent of the total national budget.  Sisulu said, "Parliament 
is underfunded by 143 million rand." 
Qis underfunded by 143 million rand." 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Congress of the People (COPE), a breakaway party of the 
ANC, has failed to live up to expectations. Instead of driving the 
debates about economic transformation and service delivery it has 
remained silent, its 30 National Assembly representatives are 
largely invisible. The COPE leadership is engaged in squabbles about 
who should be its leader rather than focusing on driving debates and 
agendas in Parliament. COPE's second deputy president and member of 
Parliament, Lynda Odendaal, and the party's election head, Simon 
Grindrod, have recently resigned from COPE, fueling speculation that 
the party is in trouble.  Recently Mbhazima Shilowa, COPE's deputy 
president, has hinted about pacts with other opposition parties, 
including the DA, to consolidate the opposition force in the 2011 
municipal polls. COPE's future as an independent party at this time 
looks bleak. Comment.  Whenever members of COPE address Parliament, 
ANC MPs always heckle them by screaming, "traitor" and not allowing 
them to speak.  End comment. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment.   The Fourth Democratically elected Parliament 
seems to be off to a slow start.  Portfolio committees were only 
finalized last week with several MPs being shifted to yet another 
committee.  One MP who was previously serving on the Mining 
Committee for the past few months has now been taken off that 
committee and reassigned.  Parliament's confusion and slowness to 
tackle the task at hand seems to be in contrast to Zuma's perceived 
successes during his first 100 days in office.  End comment.