The Week Ahead: Busy Committee & Plenary Programme

The main chambers have scheduled a broad and busy programme this week, which includes a motion of no confidence vote in the President, oral questions to the Deputy President and Social Services Cluster, a debate on the funding situation in the higher education sector as well as a joint sitting ...

The Week Ahead: President Zuma set to answer oral questions

President Zuma will grab the limelight this week when he answers oral questions in the National Assembly.

His previous question session last August was cut short when EFF Members interrupted proceedings and chanted “pay back the money”. That led to the suspension and fines imposed on 20 EFF MPs, which ...

Minister of Finance Medium Term Budget Policy Statement

Medium Term Budget Policy Statement Speech 2014

By Minister of Finance, Nhlanhla Nene

Honourable Speaker Mister President Deputy President Cabinet Colleagues and Deputy Ministers Governor and Governor-Designate of the Reserve Bank MECs of Finance Honourable Members Fellow South Africans

It is my privilege to present the 2014 Medium Term Budget ...

That week in Parliament - After the stand off

Parliament’s plenary sittings will be under scrutiny this week (and probably for the next while) following last Thursday’s dramatic and unprecedented events in the National Assembly. The House had to be suspended when the EFF disrupted proceedings and heckled the President. Chaos ensued after the EFF had demanded to know ...

Local Government getting back to basics, says Minister

In his Budget Vote address yesterday, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan, told MPs “the test of change is when citizens themselves attest that they have a decent living environment, they enjoy safety for themselves and their children, they can easily access educational and health facilities, they are ...

Communications problems: Budget vote confusion and a DA walk-out

On Tuesday, 1 July 2014, the Communications Portfolio Committee joined with the Telecommunications and Postal Services Portfolio Committee to hear the Department of Communications’ (DoC) and GCIS’ Strategic Plans, budgets and Annual Performance Plans for 2014. The mood in the committee room was tense with opposition MPs complaining that they ...

SABC gets a roasting from Communications Portfolio Committee opposition MPs

Following a briefing from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on their skills audit on Tuesday 4 February, DA member of the Portfolio Committee on Communications Ms Marian Shinn said that the SABC's presentation had given MPs “a snap shot of the very tragic state of the SABC... I have ...

Ms Mudene Smuts (DA) MP

Smuts

DENE SMUTS, has been a Member of Parliament for over two decades. She was born in the Free State and is the daughter of a judge. She joined the realm of politics in 1989 and has served the Groote Schuur and Athlone constituencies.

Political background: I have been an ...