Financial and Fiscal Commission Amendment Act 4 of 2015

The Financial and Fiscal Commission Amendment Act 4 of 2015 aims:

• to amend the Financial and Fiscal Commission Act, 1997 (‘‘the principal Act’’), so as:
  • to insert, substitute and delete certain definitions;
  • to effect changes to the provisions dealing with the functions of the Commission to ensure that the terminology used and consideration of the Commission’s recommendations are aligned to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (‘‘the Constitution’’), and other legislation;
  • to strengthen the requirements for organs of state concerning the Commission’s recommendations on the assignment of a power or function by an organ of state in one sphere of government to an organ of state in another sphere of government;
  • to adjust the period for filling of vacancies in the Commission and to repeal a duplicate provision on the same matter;
  • to provide for the appointment basis of members of the Commission;
  • to provide that a person may not hold office as a member of the Commission for more than 10 consecutive years;
  • to give effect to section 219(5) of the Constitution by introducing measures for the determination of the remuneration, allowance and other service benefits of the members of the Commission similar to the other constitutional institutions as provided for in the Determination of Remuneration of Office-bearers of Independent Constitutional Institutions Laws Amendment Act, 2014; to provide for the appointment of a person to the newly created administrative position of the chief executive officer, shift the chief executive officer’s and accounting officer’s responsibilities from the Chairperson to the person appointed as the chief executive officer of the Commission, who must also function as the Secretary to the Commission;
  • to enable delegations and instructions by the chief executive officer; to insert new provisions regulating the conduct of members of the Commission and to delete a specific provision on conduct since it will be replaced by those new provisions;
  • to align terminology used in the principal Act with that of the Public Service Act, 1994, in respect of employees seconded from the public service to the Commission;
  • to align the date for the submission of the Commission’s audited financial statements and annual report to Parliament with the provisions in the Public Finance Management Act, 1999;
  • to substitute the reference to the Central Statistical Service for the Statistics South Africa;
  • to enable the Commission to obtain information from any person;
  • to replace the Minister’s power to make regulations with a power for the Commission to make rules regarding its functioning including the distinct roles of, and the relationship between, the Chairperson of the Commission and the chief executive officer;
  • to repeal transitional arrangements; and