Bill, Bills, Bills

By Sheilan Clarke

In the second term of Parliament, three bills were passed, eight were introduced and 22 are still in the deliberation process. Check out this list of bills that you should familiarise yourself with:

National Liquor Policy

  • Status: Up for public comment

Basically, government wants the legal drinking ...

The Week Ahead: Parliament's third term kicks off

Parliament resumes this week after a three-week constituency period. The third term will run for ten weeks and the programme is packed with activities. Some of the highlights include committee, oversight and legislative work; oral questions to the President and the Executive; and the NCOP’s Provincial and Local Government Weeks. ...

Infographic: Rules to stop disruptions during Parliament proceedings

On 23 June 2015, Parliament's National Assembly Rules Committee met to discuss the frequent disruptions of the House sittings. A lengthy discussion was held and members of the committee considered draft rules and standard operating procedures presented by the Subcommittee on the Review of the NA Rules. With the exception ...

Parliament, democracy and the failure of collective leadership

By Lebo Keswa and Dumisani Hlophe

The endless chaos in Parliament is symptomatic of a failure in responsible collective leadership, and is not limited to the ruling party, but extends to all parties represented in the National Assembly. Naked pursuit of political power at all costs, regardless of the outcomes, ...

Infographic: The Fifth Parliament 2015 - Second Term Review

With the second term of Parliament done and dusted, the People’s Assembly takes a look at some of the Legislature’s activities from this period. The review provides a snapshot of the number of working days, bills processed, and questions asked.

Parliament, Second term review

LiveMagSA: Will we ever get free education?

By Sheilan Clarke

Imagine a world where you don’t have to pay for school, fork out a fortune to get an education or stand in long queues at NSFAS for a bursary. Well that might be a possibility as government is reportedly aiming to roll out free education for tertiary ...

EFF tactics have become somewhat tired

By Judith February

It’s becoming a matter of routine for presidential question time to be disrupted. Last week’s scenes in the National Assembly left little room for doubt - as if there was any, after the chaos of the State of the Nation address in February - that Parliament is ...

The Week Ahead – The end of Parliament's second term looms

It's a week of farewells, loose ends and tussles…

The constituency period beckons, with MPs due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament on 21 July 2015. But a fair amount of heavy-duty business will be done before they go.

It's a big week in ...

Start at Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete for more open House

By Judith February

President Jacob Zuma comes to Parliament to answer oral questions again on Thursday. Last week’s budget vote debates left much to be desired as MPs seemed more intent on name-calling than debating the challenges facing SA.

Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete ...

Institute for Security Studies: Budget Guide for Members of Parliament

Parliament is required to represent the people and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution. It does so by choosing the president, by providing a national forum for public consideration of issues, by passing legislation and by scrutinising and overseeing executive action.

Parliament’s oversight of the executive is ...