The week ahead: The legislature's budget vote, Nkandla, committee meetings and more

Parliament has scheduled a broad and busy programme in the main chambers as well as in the committee corridor this week.

The Legislature's budget vote is the main plenary event. During their speeches last year, the presiding officers (read here and here) focused largely on the legacy of the ...

Parliament: The good, the bad and the fair to middling

By Thulani Gqirana, Qaanitah Hunter

On March 12, Parliament failed to approve the R1.3-trillion government budget because MPs who attended the sitting did not form the necessary quorum for the vote. That budget – tabled by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in February – was only passed five days later, on ...

Infographic: Child Justice Act implementation - progress report

On Wednesday, 20 May 2015, the South African Police Service (SAPS) briefed the Police Portfolio Committee on progress made on the implementation of the Child Justice Act. Since the implementation of the legislation, the number of children charged for crimes has been on a downward trajectory. The Act looks toward ...

The Week ahead: Legislation & budget debates dominate

This is a week for detailed law-making, with issues ranging from maintenance, to freedom of expression, to land expropriation, to trade union accountability and decriminalising consensual sex between children of certain ages.

Beyond this, the legislature’s budget vote season doesn’t show any sign of slowing down as most days are ...

The Week Ahead: Packed plenary programme and committee corridor

Parliament has scheduled a broad and busy programme in the main chambers as well as in the committee corridor.

The President’s oral question session in the NCOP (on Thursday) is the main plenary event. His responses to questions on the recent xenophobic attacks and the Report on Farlam Commission of ...

The Week Ahead: Curtailed Programme

Just like the rest of the country, Parliament vibrates with concern about the recent spate of xenophopic attacks . As part of countrywide efforts to counter these incidents, the legislature has suspended its plenary sittings for this week to allow MPs to go to their constituencies and mobilise their communities ...

The week ahead: All Action in the Committee Corridor

With no sittings scheduled in the main chambers, the committee corridor will be the main source of parliamentary action this week.

MPs will spend a considerable time meeting with various departments and entities on their strategic plans, annual performance plans and budgets.

In between, there's some detailed legislating as MPs ...

LiveMagSA: Xenophobia - what is government doing about it?

By Rofhiwa Maneta

This Wednesday, Deputy Minister Cyril Ramaphosa was in parliament to answer questions from members of the National Council of Provinces. A question or two was dedicated to the ongoing energy crisis and government’s plans to arrest the decline into a full blown crisis. But perhaps the most ...

“Disarm the R5 Rifle Minister Nhleko”

GFSA amandla

A campaign has been launched by Gun Free South Africa and Amandla.mobi calling on the Minister of Police, Nkosinathi Nhleko and the National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega to disarm the police’s crowd-control units of their deadly R5 deadly rifles.

Amandla.mobi

The R5 assault rifle is based on the Israeli Galil, which ...

Infographic: Firearm restrictions in South Africa - For or against?

On Tuesday and Wednesday, 24 and 25 March, Parliament hosted a National Firearms Control Summit, organised by the Police Portfolio Committee. The summit comes at a pivotal time as the Firearms Control Amendment Bill is before Parliament. The event was well attended by the relevant government entities, as well as ...