Parliament, Sunday 30 April 2017 – The second parliamentary term starts with 60 committee oversight and law making meetings, three workshops and a debate on Workers’ Day in the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday.
Oversight and law making are two of Parliament’s key constitutional responsibilities. It is through carrying out these responsibilities that the national legislature strives to improve the quality of life of all South Africans, particularly the poor. Most of the meetings in the week ahead involve scrutiny of the strategic, performance and budget plans for this financial year. This is part of the process of preparing for consideration of the budget votes of government departments in May and June. Parliament’s budget vote is provisionally scheduled for debate in the National Assembly on 30 May. Debate on the budget vote of the Presidency is provisionally scheduled for debate on 31 May and 1 June.
Besides budget-related matters, a number of other issues are also scheduled for committee meetings and hearings in the week ahead.
- The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education will on Tuesday be briefed by the Department of Basic Education on the progress and status of committee recommendations emanating from oversight visits to provincial departments
- The Standing Committee on Finance will be briefed on Tuesday by Parliament’s Legal Services on the Money Bills Procedure and Related Matters Act and will deliberate on the act
- The Select Committee on Appropriations will hold a public hearing on Tuesday on the Division of Revenue Bill and on Wednesday the committee will consider negotiating mandates on the bill. The bill allows for the equitable share of revenue raised nationally among the national, provincial and local spheres of government.
- The Select Committee on Finance will on Tuesday deliberate on the Financial Sector Regulation Bill
- On Wednesday, a joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training and the Select Committee on Education and Recreation will receive a briefing from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme on the roll-out of the new Student Centred Model
- The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will on Wednesday be briefed by the Department of Cooperative Governance on the Constitutional Court judgement of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Act (Act 7 of 2011)
- The Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings will on Wednesday continue its hearing on two petitions. The one hearing is on the Lunga Kona Petition requesting intervention of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on the upgrade of roads and infrastructure in certain parts of the Eastern Cape. The other hearing is on the Africa Skills FET College Petition requesting intervention of the NCOP on alleged ill-treatment of students, corruption and racism by the college in the Western Cape
- A joint meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance and the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on Wednesday will hold public hearings on transformation of the financial sector
- A joint meeting on Friday of the Standing Committee on Appropriations and Portfolio Committee on Health will consider and adopt a report on health sector meetings held from 22 to 24 March 2017
Workshops scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday:
- 3 May – Standing Committee on Appropriations training workshop with the Financial and Fiscal Commission on “Budget analysis for effective fiscal oversight”; individual departmental appropriations: Budget Review and Recommendation Reports
- 4 May – Standing Committee on Appropriations committee strategic plan review workshop
- 4 May – Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry workshop on the manufacturing competitiveness enhancement programme with the Department of Trade and Industry and National Treasury
For more details and updates on the committee meetings schedule, please go to https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Docs/zlist/bd3c4960-e1c9-43e7-82e5-001749274429.pdf
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