The Deputy President, Mr David Mabuza, is this week back to face Members of Parliament as he will be answering questions in the National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday and also delivering his annual address to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday.

Also scheduled for Tuesday, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, will deliver a statement in the National Assembly on the killing of Palestinian civilians and the withdrawal of the South African ambassador to Israel. The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs will be briefed by the Electoral Commission on its preparedness for next year's National and Provincial elections. The same committee meeting will also consider and receive an update on the early naturalisation of the Gupta family.

The NCOP is on Tuesday provisionally scheduled to consider a Report of the Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs on the Notice of Intervention issued in terms of section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution, 1996 to Inkosi Langalibalele and Mpofana Local Municipalities.

The NA and NCOP plenaries scheduled for this week will deal with key debates, including on Budget Votes and Youth Day, consider Committees reports and finalise at least six Bills. There are also 19 Committee meetings scheduled to take place this week to tackle various issues.

The NA programme for this week also includes consideration of Reports of the Standing Committee on Auditor-General (on the Public Audit Amendment Bill); Standing Committee on Appropriations and Finance (on the contract extension of the Director of the Parliamentary Budget Office); Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology (on National Research Foundation Amendment Bill); Portfolio Committee on Labour (on the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill, Labour Relations Amendment Bill and the National Minimum Wage Bill) and the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform (on the Communal Property Associations Amendment Bill). The scheduled debate on Youth Day is themed: “Live the Legacy: Towards a socio-economically empowered youth.”

The National Council of Provinces' programme includes policy debates on Budget Votes for the following departments: Home Affairs (Vote 5) and Higher Education and Training (Vote 15) on Tuesday; Police (Vote 23), Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Vote 20) and Water and Sanitation (Vote 36) on Wednesday. Thursday is also dedicated to a Debate on the annual address by the Deputy President under the theme: “Building a partnership for socio-economic advancement in the true spirit of Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu.”

The NCOP’s Select Committee on Finance is scheduled to meet the provincial Treasuries of Limpopo and Northern Cape on Tuesday on their preliminary budget outcomes for 2017/18. The NA’s Standing Committee on Finance will meet on Wednesday to vote on the Money Bills Act and also discuss issues relating to VBS Mutual Bank and Capitec.

Other Committee meetings scheduled for this week include, amongst others, the following:

On Wednesday, the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration / Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation will be briefed by National Treasury on the rationality of the budget cuts in government and its impact on service delivery. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is also scheduled to brief the Committee on whether government policy and mandates are adequately catered for in the budget and whether the new approach in allocation is feasible.

On Thursday, the Standing Committee on Finance will meet to consider the Financial Sector Transformation report and other oversight issues.