The week ahead: Another flashpoint looms

12 February 2015 was an extraordinary day and will remain firmly etched in the memories of many South Africans. The violent removal of the EFF, walkouts by the DA, Agang and COPE, and the jamming of cellphone signals left many stunned and overshadowed the President’s State of the Nation Address ...

The Week Ahead: Committee meetings get underway ahead of SONA

The pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) period is usually a low-key time in Parliament – quiet and uncontroversial.

There was shift in this trend this year as MPs met in the past two weeks to finalise proposals on how to tighten Parliament's rules. A dress code for parliamentarians, their ...

The Week Ahead: Deputy President to meet with opposition, spotlight on EFF conduct, and meetings to come

We forecasted last week that the divisions between the ruling party and most opposition parties were set to widen in Parliament. What we did not anticipate was how quickly and devastatingly matters would escalate, resulting in the shameful scenes witnessed last Thursday when the public order policing unit entered the ...

Infographic: Evaluating the impact of firearm regulation on gun-homicides

The Portfolio Committee on Police recently heard a presentation by the Central Firearms Registry (CFR), where they briefed the department on measures taken to curb gun-homicides and gun-violence in general. The CFR is a subsidiary body of the South African Police Service (SAPS) who are tasked with regulating the country’s ...

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 ...

Calls for establishment of ad hoc committee as President’s Nkandla report tabled

President Javcob Zuma’s report on the security upgrades for his private residence in Nkandla has been tabled in Parliament, appearing in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports (ATC) today. The report has been tabled after the President missed the 30-day deadline declared by the ANC’s chief whip’s office on ...

Community essential to police work, says Minister

In his Police Budget Vote address in Parliament on Monday, Minister of Police Nkosinathi Nhleko, said that policing cannot exist without community support and participation, and that policing needs to continue to be subjected to public scrutiny to keep them accountable.

“The NDP [National Development Plan] envisions a state with ...