The Democratic Alliance Members of Provincial Legislatures Network (DA MPL Assistance Network) is a communications network aimed at enhancing the levels of interaction and co-operation between DA Members of Provincial Legislatures (MPL’s).
The network (formerly known as the ODMP) was revived during 2006 and will be formerly re-established during the 2007 DA Federal Congress.
The network aims to empower public representatives in the provincial legislatures and the NCOP to be fully capacitated to deal with the demands which being an MPL presents.
Furthermore, the network facilitates communication and interaction between DA public representatives, caucuses and their support staff in all three spheres of government (National Assembly and Council of Provinces, Provinces and local government), in order to promote and advance the Democratic Alliance, its aims, principles and electoral programme in the provinces, to promote federalism and the decentralisation of power and to ultimately promote liberal democratic ideas, policies and principles.
In an effort to ensure sufficient interaction between DA MPL’s from across South Africa and to ultimately improve their skills as public representatives the network has set several key objectives.
The Network’s objectives and programme of action are to;
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act as a discussion forum on policy matters which are either concurrent or exclusive government powers conferred on provinces by the Constitution,
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train and develop members both in terms of theoretical and practical knowledge relating to provincial governance,
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source and utilise funds for the implementation of programmes that the network may embark on, including contracting with outside bodies and employing staff where required.
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facilitate communication among members and between the national parliament (national assembly and NCOP) caucus, provincial caucuses and, where relevant, local government caucuses regarding;-
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national and provincial legislation and programmes,
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policy and portfolio issues,
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issue driven synchronized publicity campaigns,
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questions and motions, and
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trends, analysis and strategy.
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sharing and co-ordinating research information between all of the provinces and assisting provinces to improve their research capacity.
Any person who is a member of the DA and who holds elected office as an MPL or member of the NCOP shall be a member of the Network.
Through the functioning of the network, and through the efficient sharing of information all DA MPL’s stand to benefit from the project.
The network is thankful to the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) who have generously funded the project.
