Questions for oral reply by President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, 42 scheduled committee meetings and various debates headline this week’s busy calendar of Parliament.

The President returns to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to take questions for oral reply on Thursday, following his annual address last week, while on the same day the Deputy President will be in the National Assembly (NA) also replying to questions from Members of Parliament. Bills, reports from Committees, a subject for discussion (“The provision of quality education, skills development and innovation is a fundamental tenet for the attainment of a developmental state”) are among issues scheduled for the NA plenary sittings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The NCOP on the hand will, in addition to considering various reports from Select Committees, hold debates on conditions facing the people of Imizamo Yethu (Tuesday) and the challenges facing farm learners throughout the Western Cape, especially in areas such as in Wolseley, Stellenbosch, Wellington and Grabouw (Wednesday).

Issues to be addressed during the 42 scheduled committee meetings this week include:

On Monday, the Standing Committee on Appropriations will consider and adopt its draft report on the 2017 Division of Revenue Amendment Bill.

On Tuesday, the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education is scheduled to receive a joint briefing by the Departments of Basic Education (DBE); Social Development (DSD) and Health (DoH) on Learner Pregnancies. Secondly, the Portfolio Committee on Transport is scheduled to meet the Minister of Transport on allegations of state capture at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA); and meet with the Boards of PRASA, the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) on issues pertaining to the late submission of the 2016/17 Annual Reports and Financial Statements by these entities.

On Wednesday, the Standing Committee on Appropriations will be briefed by National Treasury, the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) and the Parliamentary Budget Office on the South African Airways’ (SAA) debt relief and recapitalization funding.

On Thursday, the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament will be briefed by the Acting Secretary to Parliament on the 2017-18 mid-year performance and expenditure of Parliament.