The constituency period beckons, with MPs due to sign off at the end of the week and resume on 4 May 2021.
Not everyone will be on a break though. A few committees, with urgent business, have arranged meetings during this period.
There is no opportunity to go through the motions as a fair amount of heavy-duty business will be done before they go.
Question Time is the main chamber business this week.
In the NCOP, Ministers in the Economics Cluster will provide oral responses to questions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
In the NA, the Deputy President will answer six main questions plus follow-up questions on Wednesday. Two of the standout questions are about Eskom and the coronavirus (impact and vaccine rollout). In a report to be considered this week, the NA has reduced the frequency of the Deputy President’s appearance before it from once a month to once per quarter.
A day later, select Ministers in the Governance Cluster will be probed on a variety of matters under their purview.
Beyond this, a major point of interest is the NA’s vote whether to proceed with impeachment proceedings against the Public Protector. The Chief Whip of the DA submitted a motion to the Speaker in 2020 for the initiation of proceedings. An independent panel, which was appointed to conduct and finalise a preliminary assessment, found substantial prima facie evidence of incompetence and misconduct – and recommended Parliament could go ahead to form a committee to impeach her.
In between, there is plenty of legislative business as the NA considers the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill; Customary Initiation Bill and the Division of Revenue Bill. The latter provides for equitable division of funds raised nationally among the national, provincial and local spheres of government for a particular financial year. It also provides for determining each province’s equitable share of the provincial share of revenue and for any other allocations to provinces, local government or municipalities from the national government’s share of revenue.
The week rounds off with a focus on Human Rights Day. Both chambers will commemorate the day in different ways, with the NA having a debate and the NCOP arranging a lecture.
It’s a busy week in committee-land. Here under the highlights:
Monday, 15 March 2021
Ad Hoc Committee on the section 100 Intervention in the North West Province, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by NPA on the implementation of s100 intervention in North West and cases brought to them], Virtual Meeting Platform, 17:00
*The Ad Hoc Committee will visit the province this week to assess progress and impact of the intervention.
Tuesday, 16 March 2021
Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, (National Assembly), [Public Hearings on the Electoral Laws Second Amendment Bill], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00
Portfolio Committee on Transport, (National Assembly), [Public Hearings on the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill [B 7-2020]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00
Standing Committee on Public Accounts, (National Assembly), [Meeting with the Department of Public Enterprises on SAA on the progress made by the Business Rescue Practitioners since the last meeting with SCOPA and investigations conducted by the SIU], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30-13:00
Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, (National Assembly), [Briefing by Special Investigating Unit, National Prosecuting Authority and Hawks on Investigations – Master’s Office, Office of the State Attorney and COVID-19 cases; Deliberations on the Traditional Courts Bill], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30
Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy, (National Council of Provinces), [Committee discussion on the Committee Report on submissions received by the Committee on the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights A/B [B 6B - 2020] (sec 76); Consideration and Adoption of Minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-13:00
Wednesday, 17 Mach 2021
Standing Committee on Finance, (National Assembly), [Meeting with National Treasury, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the Sekunjalo Group and Mr Maponya on the Mpati Commission of Inquiry Report], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00
Standing Committee on Public Accounts, (National Assembly), [Meeting with enforcement agencies on Covid 19 procurement cases and State Owned Entities corruption cases (SIU, Hawks and NPA)], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30-13:00
Standing Committee on Public Accounts, (National Assembly), [Briefing on the progress made by Department of Water and Sanitation on the investigations], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:30-21:00
Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, (National Assembly), [Briefing by South African Police Service on the Criminal Record System; Briefing by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on the National Register for Sex Offenders; Deliberations on the Traditional Courts Bill; Consideration and Adoption of Committee Minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30
Thursday, 18 March 2021
Joint Standing Committee on Defence, (National Assembly and National Council of Provinces), [Presentation by Reserve Force Council on ‘A South Africanised, Holistic and Integrated Combat Ready Reserve Force System’; Adoption of Minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:00-21:00
Portfolio Committee on Transport, (National Assembly), [Deliberations on the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill [B 1 – 2020]; Meeting on the Moloto Rail Corridor], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:00
Committees provide a platform for the public to present views directly to MPs. Share your on the ground experience and expert information to the relevant committees. Critically, what questions should MPs pose to the Executive as they conduct their oversight work?
We have consolidated our reports on the COVID-19 related meetings here.
During the constituency period, MPs have a duty to: be available to the public, help solve problems and report back to their constituents on what is happening in Parliament.
The purpose of this period is to encourage MPs to remain in contact with the people they represent.
View the schedule page here.
*This summary is based on the schedule as it is published on Monday morning. The programme is subject to frequent updating so the link above needs to be checked daily to confirm the programme for the day.
Comments
Keep comments free of racism, sexism, homophobia and abusive language. People's Assembly reserves the right to delete and edit comments
(For newest comments first please choose 'Newest' from the 'Sort by' dropdown below.)