National Assembly passes Second Special Appropriation Bill

A Parliament National Assembly (NA) hybrid sitting has passed the 2021 Second Special Appropriation Bill.

It will now go to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence, Parliament said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Parliament said the 2021 Second Special Appropriation Bill proposes to appropriate additional urgent funding allocations in the 2021/22 financial year, to the Votes of National Treasury, Social Development, Defence, Police, and Trade, Industry and Competition.

An amendment to the Bill enables the Minister of Finance to approve urgent expenditure for contingency funding. Section 213(2) of the Constitution provides that money may be withdrawn from the National Revenue Fund only in terms of an appropriation by an Act of Parliament.

The Bill was tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Finance on 23 August 2021 and was referred to the committees for consideration and report to the National Assembly, as prescribed in section 13 of the Act.

“In processing the Bill, section 4(4)(c) of the Act also requires the committees on Appropriations in both Houses to consult with the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC).

“In addition to consulting with the FFC, the committees also invited the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) to comment on the Bill. They also consulted with stakeholders directly affected by the Bill, namely the South African Special Risks Insurance Association.”

The 2021 Second Special Appropriation Bill proposed an additional R26.7 billion to Social Development to cater for the Social Relief Grant, inclusive of R500 million (inclusive of the R250 million allocated through section 16 (1) of the Public Financial Management Act) to the South African Social Security Agency for system enhancements to improve application and payment processes, including a strengthened eligibility assessment system.

Parliament said the Bill also proposed an additional R700 million to Defence to fund the deployment of military personnel to assist police with bringing order after the July 2021 riots, mainly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. The Bill also proposed an additional R1.3 billion to Trade, Industry and Competition to support businesses affected by the July riots. The NCOP is scheduled to debate the 2021 Second Special Appropriation Bill in December.

Meanwhile, at the same plenary sitting, the NA agreed to the Sectional Titles Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend certain provisions of the Sectional Titles Act, 1986 (Act No. 95 of 1986) (the principal Act). The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, having deliberated on the content of the Bill, realised that it was necessary to amend provisions of the principal Act, which were not included in the Bill. The Bill will be sent to the NCOP for concurrence.