I was back at my post as a parliamentary monitor after an interval of five years. My first Committee meeting was a briefing from the Department of Water Affairs to the Portfolio Committee of Water, the latter consisting of brand new members. It appeared as though the entire Department and ...

Before the Finance Minister gives his annual budget speech in Parliament, the budget goes through a mind-boggling process of estimations, drafting, redrafting, and negotiations throughout the year. It is discussed at length in meetings between committees, departments, and entities, all with the aim of making the most efficient use of ...

The Select Committee on Economic and Business Development held its first meeting with Public Works, with the Minister and Deputy Minister present on Tuesday, 15 July 2014. However, as the Committee progressed into discussion following the Department’s presentation, I was struck – not by the Minister’s announcement that the Department ...

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is tasked with ensuring administrative efficiency in all government departments. This week, the Standing Committee on Appropriations saw the PSC's presentation on the 2014 Appropriations Bill, where the issue of increasing departmental efficiency was discussed. 

The PSC identified performance monitoring of Heads of Departments (HoDs) ...

When the Public Service Commission (PSC) made their presentation to the Standing Committee on Appropriations, an interesting point was raised. Key departments, those which have been allocated the largest budgets, have not been meeting their targeted outputs for the latest year (2012/13). This raises important questions about the allocation of ...

How much do you really know about the South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA)? If their social media platforms are anything to go by - the @SALGA_Gov Twitter account only has 375 followers and they have just 415 likes on their Facebook page - the public need to be better ...

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) this week presented its strategic plan in Parliament for the year 2014/15. Among other things, there was an emphasis on the state of miner health and safety in South Africa's mines, and the Department's Mine Health and Safety Programme which seeks to improve the ...

A matter of concern raised by students during the 2014 elections was the lack of employment opportunities for qualified graduates. The current skills market has undergone various changes in line with the future needs of the economy.

In the briefing by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to ...

In September 2012, a global network of parliamentary monitoring organisations (PMOs) from 38 countries converged on Rome, Italy, for the launch of the World e-Parliament Conference 2012. The conference sought to facilitate discussions between PMOs on the best means of making all Parliaments 'open'; that is, to petition Parliaments to ...

Prior to 2012, the introduction of bills into Parliament were exclusively in the hands of Ministers and Members of the Executive Council (MEC). The role of an MP was to oversee the implementation of these bills all the way to the President's desk. A new ruling in late 2012 sought ...