The Week Ahead: Question sessions, higher education & legislation

It's a big week in the NA chamber with MPs scheduled to sit for long hours to consider several bills and assorted committee reports.

The major plenary highlights will be the question sessions involving the Ministers in the Social Services Cluster and the Deputy President on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. ...

Inside SA’s cyber-insecurity problem

By Jane Duncan

A new Bill threatens our digital rights and raises the spectre of internet censorship.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of cybercrime in the world. So it is hardly surprising that more people are looking to the government to step in and do something about ...

The Week Ahead: Higher Education, Questions & Legislation dominate the programme

After a low key week, the main chambers have scheduled a broad and busy programme, which includes oral questions to the executive; ministerial and members’ statements, policy debates, and the processing of assorted bills, statutory instruments and committee reports.

In the National Assembly, the main plenary event will be the ...

The Week Ahead: All eyes on Minister of Finance as he presents mini-budget

Committees will continue examining government departments and state entities on their 2014/15 Annual Reports in preparation of their Budgetary Review and Recommendations Reports. These reports may include proposals on the future use of resources and are a critical part of Parliament’s engagement with the budget for the following year.

The ...

Broadband connections for schools

Oversight is a function granted by the Constitution to Parliament to oversee effective management of government action. How it is done in practice is that a parliamentary committee is assigned one department to oversee and often, to get to the nitty gritty, the committee will go on an oversight visit ...

The Week Ahead: End of Third Term

The constituency period beckons but there is still time for a fair amount of heavy-duty business before MPs depart.

With little scheduled in the main chambers, the committee corridor will be the main source of parliamentary action, where there are several hearings on important issues and detailed legislating.

The lone ...

The Week Ahead: MPs criss-crossing the country

It's the penultimate week for the third term and an unusual programme looms; with no sittings in the main chambers, a few meetings scheduled and lawmakers devoting most of their time to oversight work across the country.

Permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will embark on a ...

Parliamentary oversight: Few consequences

By Troye Lund

PUBLIC protector Thuli Madonsela’s revelations of widespread corruption, nepotism and maladministration at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) did not come as a surprise to members of parliament who are charged with overseeing the state entity.

In 2013 the auditor-general (AG) was warning MPs on parliamentary ...

Hands off our internet

By: Rofhiwa Maneta

Recently, the Film and Publications Board successfully submitted their draft Online Regulation Policy for consideration by Parliament. The proposed policy aims to regulate content published on the internet to make sure it does not contain hate speech or child pornography. Content uploaded on the net would have ...

Representation: can we question the legitimacy of parliament?

By Raymond Suttner

In its opening words, phrased as a declaration and making known to all, the Freedom Charter embraces a claim to popular sovereignty and democratic rule, in the name of the people of South Africa. It immediately attacks the legitimacy of apartheid South Africa and simultaneously calls for ...