South Africa
Parliamentary Monitoring Group: This Week – Deputy President Mabuza in the hot seat
A highlight in Parliament this week will be Deputy President David Mabuza's engagement with lawmakers when he appears to answer oral questions. By PARLIAMENTARY MONITORING GROUP staff.
This article was first published by PMG
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In comparison to recent weeks, there’s a slight lull in Parliament as the legislature makes the most of the mid-week public holiday. The National Assembly has only set aside one day for parliamentary business in the main chamber. Elsewhere, the NCOP will have no plenary sittings as delegates will be away in their constituencies.
The main (and only) plenary highlight will be the Deputy President’s regular engagement with lawmakers when he appears to answer oral questions.
In terms of the rules, these sessions happen once per month during
See full plenary programme here
Even with a compressed calendar, it’s a promising week in the Committee corridor. Everything from detailed lawmaking, to Executive scrutiny, to internal reports, to
The National Assembly assigned the Constitutional Review Committee to review Section 25 of the Constitution to make it possible for the state to expropriate land in the public interest without compensation. The Committee will embark on a process of consultation throughout the length and breadth of this country and has to report back to the Assembly by 30 August 2018. The first step begins on Tuesday when it meets to consider and adopt the proposed programme of public hearings.
There was a brief public spat between the chairperson of CRL Rights Commission and Parliament following the killings at the Angel’s Ministry in the Eastern Cape, According to media reports, the Commission’s Chair said she had warned Parliament last year about that Church and urged that religious regulation needed to be
MPs will get a progress report on Operation Bring Back. This is a project of the Department of Public Works that is aimed at reclaiming state properties that have been misappropriated or unlawfully occupied.
Given the current national debate, all meetings concerning land reform and redistribution will not go by unnoticed. In recent weeks the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform discussed the Ingonyama Trust Board, the
Public hearings on the Traditional Courts Bills will continue.
Several committees – Trade and Industry, Home Affairs and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries – will get a head start on their budget vote processes. This annual ritual – which ordinarily happens in the second term – includes meetings with various departments and entities on their strategic plans, annual performance plans and budgets for the financial year. Committees then have to prepare a report for consideration by the House.
Legislators will hear from the SABC on its 2017/18 2nd Quarter Expenditure and Performance Reports.
The Standing Committee on Finance will get a briefing on Capitec and VBS Mutual Bank. Earlier this year, Viceroy Research released a report questioning Capitec’s lending practice and indicating that the bank should be placed under curatorship. Capitec has disagreed with these findings. National Treasury issued a directive to municipalities not to bank with the VBS and this has sparked a furious response in certain quarters. The same committee has been relentless in trying to deal with the Makwakwa matter; the KPMG report on SARS Intelligence Unit and Steinhoff matter. These topics will be the focus of another meeting and is a follow up from the previous week’s discussion.
In between, there will be some high-powered lawmaking on strengthening public audits, debt relief, minimum wage and other labour matters, traditional courts, marine matters, liquor products, land tenure, copyright, critical infrastructure, ICT and land transport. DM
See
File Photo: SA Deputy President David Mabuza was sworn in on Tuesday 27 February 2018. (Leila Dee Dougan for Daily Maverick)