By Rebecca Davis
Since August last year, the occasions on which the President comes to the National Assembly in order to answer questions have assumed a heightened significance. They are hailed as the ultimate opportunity to “hold the executive to account”, as Julius Malema put it. In fact, they are ...
By Judith February, Senior Researcher, Governance, Crime and Justice Division, ISS Pretoria.
In South Africa, we have stumbled upon a new trend: that of disrupting the business of legislatures, be it the national Parliament or provincial legislatures. It seems, though, that little was gained either in Gauteng or the Western ...
By Judith February, Senior Researcher, Governance, Crime and Justice Division, ISS Pretoria.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma’s last appearance in Parliament ended badly, to say the least. With Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members of Parliament (MPs) shouting ‘pay back the money’ as they demanded answers on Nkandla, Zuma was spirited ...
20 Years of Democracy
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By Judith February
The tinsel is up and faint strains of Deck the halls are being heard everywhere. The year is virtually at a close and it’s pretty safe to say that this has been South Africa’s very own ‘annus horribilis’. Despite the fact that the ANC in government will ...
By Raymond Suttner
Many observers derive some pleasure from the disorder recently witnessed in parliament and the embarrassment it has caused the ANC. While lamenting this development, many may wish to see these scenes continue, no matter what the cost to parliament as an institution. It is, however, necessary to ...
By Lawson Naidoo
THE disgraceful scenes last Thursday, when the public order policing unit entered the chamber of the National Assembly, constituted not just an assault on members of Parliament but a cynical assault on our democracy.
It is poignant that this occurred on the eve of the conclusion of ...
Speech by Trevor Manuel For the Helen Suzman Memorial Lecture 11 November 2014
In the preparations for this evening, I shocked Francis Antonie with the request that we change the topic of the lecture. My basic suggestion – and the one that appears to have caused all manner of reverberations ...
By Raymond Parsons
WATCHING Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene struggling to balance his maiden "mini-budget" in Parliament last week was a strong reminder of where the word "budget" originates. In France during the Middle Ages, business people kept their money in a "bougette", or small leather bag.
Budgeting then consisted of ...
By Professor Daniel Plaatjies
At the heart of this political impasse is the nature, form and structure of proportional party representation in Parliament, writes Daniel Plaatjies.
Parliamentary impasse is a consequence of unrepresentative representatives through the proportional representative (PR) system.
The current impasse in Parliament is a residue of the ...