The Week Ahead – The end of Parliament's second term looms

It's a week of farewells, loose ends and tussles…

The constituency period beckons, with MPs due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament on 21 July 2015. But a fair amount of heavy-duty business will be done before they go.

It's a big week in the NA chamber with MPs scheduled to sit for long hours to vote on several bills and approve an assortment of committee reports. Legislators are also set to debate a DA motion on the attendance and departure of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from the African Union Summit. Reports emerged at the weekend about how government plotted al-Bashir’s escape. No doubt a few MPs will use this opportunity for point-scoring and to eke out some parliamentary publicity.

Its rather quieter in the NCOP chamber, where delegates will conclude left over budget policy debates as well as some legislative business.

Elsewhere, the committee corridor has scheduled several interesting meetings that are likely to produce big headlines. Here is a run down of the highlights:

The Ad Hoc Committee established to consider the Police Minister’s report regarding the security upgrades at the Nkandla private residence of the President will meet on Tuesday to mull over its draft programme. At its first meeting, the ruling party and opposition squared off on who to call to appear before the Committee. The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus have taken a wait and see approach while the EFF, COPE, the UDM, the IFP and the ACDP withdrew from the committee earlier.

The Speaker has requested that the Subcommittee on the Review of NA Rules meet urgently to discuss guidelines to address disruptions in the House. This follows the adjournment of the National Assembly last Thursday after the EFF interrupted proceedings.

The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation will host the Cuban 5 delegation and the Cuban Ambassador. The committee chairperson is quoted as saying that “the Committee invited the Cuban 5 delegation to Parliament so they could express an appreciation about their heroic personal involvement in the crucial Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, 1987, in Angola, which brought the dawn of independence in Namibia, the withdrawal of the South African Defence Force from Angola, and ultimately freedom in South Africa”.

The Minister of Communications will brief MPs on the Memorandum of Incorporation of the SABC; Broadcasting Charter; and Legislation and governance instruments for various entities under the Department of Communications. In addition, legislators will get briefings on the land identification and acquisition policy framework for human settlements and State-Owned Companies rationalisation.

The Portfolio Committee on Labour has arranged a workshop on the National Minimum Wage. This is a continuation of the public hearings that have been held across the country with different sectors. In his 2014 State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma stated that the National Minimum Wage must be investigated as a mechanism to alleviate poverty and inequality. The participants have included labour unions, employer organisations, academics and experts, who have differed widely and cited varying statistics and data (sometimes even contradictory) to support their position, with views ranging from non-committal, rejection, qualified support and outright support.

On Wednesday, MPs will be briefed on the local government audit outcomes, government’s 30 day payment policy and court cases against mining companies by lawyers representing thousands of miners who developed silicosis but have never been properly compensated.

In between, there will be some detailed legislating as committees process the Eskom bills, Merchant Shipping Amendment Bill, Appropriation Bill, Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill and Disaster Management Bill.

MPs are expected to be in their constituency office carrying out important work during the constituency period.(For more info about constituency offices, click here)

You can find the full list of meetings here.