Virtual parliament a massive saving – report

Virtual parliament had become such a cost save that it’s now recommended that it should continue post lockdown and integrated as part of the programme.

A new survey found massive savings, including travel costs, efficiency of parliament and attendance by the executive and officials have improved since Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were imposed, forcing the virtual parliament to be introduced.

However, public participation had suffered due to media-only external participation requirement at virtual committee meetings, done at the expense of the public.

Many members of the public were unable to access the digital platforms such as YouTube, the parliamentary channel on DStv and others that provided live broadcasts of parliamentary and committee proceedings.

These were among the findings of a study conducted by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group titled “Implications of Virtual Parliament on its Constitutional Mandate”, released on Monday.

It examined the impact of the pandemic on parliament’s legislative functions, including participation and oversight and covered the second and third parliamentary terms of 2020 (13 April to 4 September 2020). Parliament’s output had significantly improved with 16 Bills introduced of which 10 were passed.

The Disaster Management Tax Relief Bill and the Adjustments Appropriation Bill, which were critical to the pandemic response mechanism, were also passed.

In other benefits of the digital platforms, the survey found that departments and state-owned enterprise (SOEs) delegations no longer needed to travel to Cape Town, realising immense savings. Members no longer needed to fly frequently to join meetings and plenaries, saving travelling and catering costs.

The digitisation also helped to save on printing costs and opened the way to a sustainable approach to communication. Members could also engage with the executive more consistently as travelling was no longer necessary.

During the period under review, parliament held a total of 644 meetings.

“In the second term, there were 470 meetings – a record for parliament – indicating rigorous oversight once parliament found its footing,” the report said.

Committees increased the frequency of their meetings. The portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs conducted 52 meetings – more than four times its usual number, and the human settlements, water and sanitation had a three-fold increase with 32 meetings, while the social development committee met 18 times, which was double the normal number.

With Zoom used, more departmental and SOE officials were attending than it would have been the case when they had to travel to Cape Town.

“It places the power to decide how to participate in parliament squarely in the hands of the members. A continuation of the virtual setting will position South Africa as a modern, accessible parliament,” the report said.

According to the report, some MPs were concerned about the hybrid set-up that limited their privilege of free speech, resulting in lack of robust debates. Other politicians experienced internet connectivity due to inequalities where they lived.