The pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) period is usually a low-key time in Parliament – quiet and uncontroversial.
There was shift in this trend this year as MPs met in the past two weeks to finalise proposals on how to tighten Parliament's rules. A dress code for parliamentarians, their ...
President Zuma’s annual address to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is expected to steal the limelight this week. The theme for this year’s event is “Celebrating 20 years of a Democratic Parliament – together moving the NCOP forward as a vanguard of the interests of provinces”. Another story ...
Parliament has been starved of legislative action for the past few weeks, with committees focused on preparing their Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR). While there is still some leftover work in that regard, there is quite a lot of heavy legislative lifting scheduled this week- with five bills up ...
Another week and another showdown is looming in Parliament. Last week, five opposition parties (DA, EFF, COPE, UDM and FF+) tabled a motion of no confidence in the Speaker of Parliament. They accused her, amongst other things, of being partisan and stifling criticism of the executive arm of government. The ...
Parliament resumes this week after a two week break. The second term is expected to run for five weeks and the programme is packed with activities. Some of the highlights include oversight and legislation work, Questions to the President and the Executive, Women’s month celebration and the National Council of ...
With all the Portfolio Committees meeting the deadline to finalise their Budget Vote Reports by last Friday (and some already published in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports (ATC)), the focus now shifts to the budget vote debates that will commence tomorrow (Tuesday, 15 July 2014) and run for ...
Yesterday during a Department’s budget briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform (RDLR), firebrand EFF MP Andile Mngxitama offered the RDLR Minister, Gugile Nkwinti, the EFF’s vote in order to get a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution to expropriate land without compensation. The Minister politely ...
Last week Wednesday, 25 June 2014, during the discussion of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform’s committee programme, a robust debate was held between ANC MPs and opposition MPs about whether or not farm worker evictions should be put on the agenda as a matter of urgency. ...
Despite objections from the DA, FF Plus and the ACDP, on 12 March 2014 the ANC majority in the National Assembly ensured the passing of the Property Valuation Bill. The bill, which aims to regulate the prices government pay for land for reform purposes, has now been referred to the ...