On Wednesday (28 March 2018), Deputy President David Mabuza will appear for his first oral questions session before the National Council of Provinces since his appointment. He appeared in the National Assembly last week for his first oral questions session in that House.

Also scheduled to answer oral questions before the National Council of Provinces this week are the Ministers of International Relations and Cooperation, State Security and Home Affairs. Their questions session is scheduled for the National Council of Provinces plenary sitting on Tuesday. These regular oral questions sessions are one of the ways in which Parliament holds the Executive to account.

The National Assembly’s plenary sitting on Tuesday (27 March 2018) will feature condolences for Ms Fezeka Loliwe. Ms Loliwe was Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour when she died in a car accident earlier this month while travelling in the Eastern Cape to do constituency work.

The Assembly’s Tuesday (27 March 2018) sitting will also consider the Political Party Funding Bill. Among others, the Bill proposes regulating and making transparent private donations to political parties represented in Parliament and Provincial Legislatures. It is the culmination of extensive public consultations and hearings. A subject for discussion is also on the agenda of Tuesday’s sitting. Ms Connie September, of the African National Congress and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, is scheduled to introduce the subject - “a renewed approach towards skills development to ensure opportunities for economic activity”. Motions without Notice, Members’ Statements and Notices of Motion are also scheduled.

Two of the 33 scheduled parliamentary committee meetings will be outside Parliament. The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training is conducting an oversight visit on Wednesday to the Cape Peninsular University of Technology’s Cape Town campus. (Please contact Sibo Maputi on 081 052 6060 for more information). The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements is holding a workshop in Kleinmond on Wednesday and Thursday on proposed legislation and policies. (Please contact Felicia Lombard on 074 580 5503 for more information).

At Parliament, almost half of the scheduled committees will consider briefings on strategic, quarterly, annual and performance plans, budgets and programmes of government departments and entities, Seven Bills and a range of public interest issues also feature at scheduled meetings. The Bills scheduled for consideration are the National Forests Amendment Bill, National Health Laboratory Service Amendment Bill, Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill, Plant Improvement Bill, Plant Breeders’ Rights Bill, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill and the National Research Foundation Bill.

Committee meetings scheduled for the week ahead include:

1. Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs: Committee discussion on emails about early naturalisation of Gupta family (Tuesday)
2. Joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation and Standing Committee on Public Accounts: Briefing by Special Investigating Unit, Auditor General South       Africa and National Treasury on challenges facing Department of Water and Sanitation (Tuesday)
3. Select Committee on Social Services: Briefing by Department of Water and Sanitation on financial management at Water Trading Entity and bulk water supply (Tuesday)
4. Select Committee on Land and Mineral Resources: Draft C-List Amendments of Plant Bills; Mineral & Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill negotiating mandate (Tuesday)
5. Standing Committee on Finance: SAA briefing on quarterly report (Tuesday)
6. Portfolio Committee on Communications: Parliament Legal Services briefing on ICASA Council Chairperson, Mr R Mohlaloga; Committee discussion on allegations of state capture against former Minister of Communications Ms Faith Muthambi in OUTA report (Tuesday)
7. Standing Committee on Appropriations: National Treasury briefing on progress with restructuring public entities, new budget facility for infrastructure, major work underway by Office of Chief Procurement Officer, payment of suppliers per Budget Vote (Tuesday)
8. Joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Portfolio Committee on Health: Briefing by Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Health on Listeriosis outbreak and recall of certain products by retailers (Wednesday)
9. Select Committee on Communications and Public Enterprises: Reduction on cost to communicate briefing by ICASA, Vodacom, MTN, Telkom and Cell C (Wednesday)
10. Portfolio Committee on Social Development: South African Social Security Agency progress report on implementation of Constitutional Court judgment, Department of Social Development 3rd quarterly financial and performance reports 2017/18 (Wednesday)
11. Joint meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance, Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration: Follow-up meeting with Steinhoff (Wednesday)
12. Portfolio Committee on Police: Briefing by Independent Police Investigative Directorate on high-profile cases and progress report on Marikana investigations (Thursday)

These are among key matters scheduled to come before committees of Parliament this week. 

This week brings the first parliamentary quarter to a close and Members of Parliament embark on a constituency period from 3 to 16 April.