OVERVIEW
1. What are the Budget votes?
Once the Minister of Finance has presented his annual national budget to Parliament, each parliamentary committee has hearings on the budget for the state department over which it has oversight.
The committee asks the department what it plans to achieve with its budget. The committee also checks whether the department kept all the promises it made for the previous year and whether it spent the taxpayers' money properly.
When the committees have finished discussing the different budget votes, the budgets are debated in the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
In these budget debates, the ministers must report on the work done by their departments in the past year, and must explain how they will spend their budget in the coming year.
At the same time, opposition parties have the opportunity to comment on and criticise the way the government is being run, make alternative proposals and comment on spending priorities.
This means that, every year, there is an open discussion among the parties in Parliament on the way each state department is run.
2. Why are the Budget votes important?
It is a Constitutional principle that government can only spend money if it has first been approved by Parliament - the budget comes from public money which is collected from the taxpayer and therefore it must be spent in ways that will most benefit the public.
It is very hard for individual citizens to make a difference to the budget itself but one of the most effective ways they can influence the budget is through their public representatives, whose job it is to represent their interests in the budget voting process.
3. How do the Budget Votes work?
- There are 34 separate votes, which are put to the 400 MPs in the National Assembly. The Speaker calls the votes by number. (E.g. Vote No 3 - Foreign Affairs)
- Parties can then make declarations (A short speech, no longer than 2 minutes). Usually a party has indicated its intention to make a declaration beforehand. Declarations can be for or against a vote. Declarations (made by opposition parties) are often used to criticize elements of a department, even though a vote might ultimately be supported. The ANC tends to hold back its declaration until other parties have spoken in order to defend or promote the department. Thus, usually, where the DA makes a declaration - so will the ANC. (E.g. Vote No 14 - Arts and Culture - put. Declarations of vote made on behalf of Democratic Alliance and African National Congress. Vote agreed to.)
- The Speaker then calls on the parties to vote.
- If a party is in agreement, it verbally expresses this. If all parties are in agreement the vote is carried unanimously. (E.g. Vote No 11 - Public Service Commission - agreed to)
- If a party is in disagreement, it can dissent (or object). In this case, the vote is still carried by the majority, but those parties who objected are recorded as having dissented. (E.g. Vote No 32 - Trade and Industry - put. Declarations made on behalf of Democratic Alliance, Independent African Movement and African National Congress. Vote agreed to. (Democratic Alliance and Independent African Movement dissenting)
- If a party is strongly opposed to a vote, it can call for a division. If a division is called each MP's individual vote is recorded, by name, in the minutes. (E.g. Vote No 25 - Safety and Security - put. Declarations made on behalf of Democratic Alliance, African Christian Democratic Party, Freedom Front, Independent African Movement, National Action and African National Congress. Division demanded. The House divided: AYES - 249: Abrahams, T; Abram, S; Ainslie, A R; etc NOES - 45: Andrew, K M; Aucamp, C; Bell, B G etc. Vote accordingly agreed to.)
If a person or party fails to record a vote, for a division, it means they were not in the House. Usually this indicates support for a vote as they did not deem the vote important enough to warrant any objection. An MP can also abstain from voting in a division and have his or her vote recorded as such.
4. What is the purpose of these documents?
These documents are designed to provide a record of the way in which the opposition parties in parliament have vote over the past two years.
Download 2005 Budget Votes document
Download 2006 Budget Votes document
ABOUT THE DA
