The Week Ahead: Budget Vote Debates - Round 2

It’s the second week of budget vote debates in the National Assembly and the frenetic pace of committee meetings and mini-plenary sessions continue.

The debates are a platform for Ministers to unpack the work of government and to give an account of their spending plans and priorities for the year. This also forms part of Parliament’s consideration of the budget.

On Tuesday, the Ministers of Justice and Constitutional Development and Cooperative and Traditional Affairs will take to the podium to present their budgets. Their colleagues in the Transport, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, National Treasury and Communications and Digital Technologies portfolios are in the spotlight on Wednesday. Thursday will be the turn of the Mineral Resources and Energy and Basic Education Ministers. The week will round off with the Ministers of Trade, Industry and Competition, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and Public Enterprises delivering their speeches on Friday.

See: Budget Vote debates schedule

So far, the speeches have followed a familiar pattern – a few interesting announcements, a focus on implementing the government’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan, a recognition of the fiscal constraints and budget cuts and accusations by the opposition that the government is failing to deliver on its promises.

Click here to read all the budget vote speeches and responses.

Elsewhere, the NCOP has also scheduled 2 policy debates (Wednesday and Thursday).

On Tuesday, delegates will consider the Division of Revenue Bill. This Bill shares nationally collected revenue through all spheres of government and was tabled together with the Budget Speech and the other budget-related bills. The Bill allocates 49.7 percent to the national sphere, 41.2 percent to provinces, and 9.1 percent to local government.

At the same sitting, 2 other significant bills - the Employment Equity Amendment Bill and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Bill – will also be considered.

Legislation, spending matters and oversight dominate the agenda in the committee corridor. Here is a rundown of the highlights:

TUESDAY, 17 MAY 2022

Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, (National Assembly), [Consideration and adoption of the Motion of Desirability (MOD); Committee deliberations on the Bill on the Electoral Amendment Bill [B 1 – 2022]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Standing Committee on Finance, (National Assembly), [Briefing by Mr Alf Lees (DA) on the Public Finance Management Amendment Bill [B41 – 2018] and Mr Cachalia on the Public Finance Management Amendment Bill [B13 – 2020]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Standing Committee on Appropriations, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure on the 2022 Appropriation Bill], Virtual Platform, 09:00-12:00

Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture, (National Assembly), [Follow up meeting with South African Rugby Union (SARU) on outstanding matters and report on the legal fees SARU will have to pay regarding the matter of the CEO; Briefing by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture on the South African National Monumental Flag Project;], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy on the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill (08:30-10:00); Consideration and adoption of the Committee Budget Vote Report; Consideration and adoption of the consolidated public hearings report on the Gas Amendment Bill (10:00-10:30], Virtual Meeting Platform, 08:30-10:30

Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, (National Assembly), [Response by DALRRD on the written and oral public inputs on the Agricultural Produce Agents Amendment Bill], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, (National Assembly), [Deliberations on / consideration of the Copyright and the Performers’ Protection A/Bs; Consideration of the process regarding the appointment of the NLC Chairperson], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Standing Committee on Public Accounts, (National Assembly), [Hearing on the Audit Report of the Road Accident Fund for the financial year under review (2020/21)], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30-13:00

Select Committee on Finance, (National Council of Provinces), [Follow up with Land Bank on their quarterly reports, challenges in executing their mandate], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, (National Assembly), [Briefing by DBE on the Mathematics, Science and Technology Strategies and Interventions (teacher training and development, teacher demand/needs, learner uptake, improved subject performance)], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:30-21:30 (After Plenary)

WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022

Standing Committee on Finance, (National Assembly), [Consideration and adoption of the Committee reports and clause by clause deliberations on the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies Bill [B3 – 2022] and the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies (Administration) and Deposit Insurance Premiums Bill [B4 – 2022]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Select Committee on Appropriations, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by National Treasury on the: (i) Appropriation Bill [B7 – 2022] and (ii) Second Adjustments Appropriation (2021/22 Financial Year) Bill [B8 – 2022]; (b) Briefing by the Department of Health on the Second Adjustments Appropriation (2021/22 Financial Year) Bill [B8 – 2022]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Portfolio Committee on Police, (National Assembly), [Briefing on SAPS Infrastructure Development together with the Minister of Police and Public Works and Infrastructure], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, (National Assembly), (Deliberations on / consideration of the Copyright and the Performers’ Protection A/Bs)], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, (National Assembly), [Progress report by Eastern Cape Province on addressing the challenges raised in the Auditor General’s Special Report on financial management on government’s Covid-19 initiatives], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, (National Assembly), [Briefing by Statistics South Africa on the successful implementation of CENSUS 2022 and challenges encountered thereof; Briefing by the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation on the monitoring report of the National Development Plan indicators], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, (National Assembly), [Briefing on the Military Police mandate, Capacity (Staffing and Resources), Achievements and Challenges, including case load; Briefing on the Adjutant General mandate, Capacity, achievements and Challenges, including cases submitted; conviction rate (2019 – 2022); Consideration and Adoption of the Budget Vote Reports (Budget Votes 23 and 26); Consideration and adoption of outstanding Minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-13:00

THURSDAY, 19 MAY 2022

Joint Standing Committee on Defence, (National Assembly and National Council of Provinces), [Exploring avenues for revenue generation by the DOD to assist with addressing the limiting funding to the Department.; Engagement with the DOD on the status of Project Koba Tlala, how it aids rural economic development and SANDF self-sustainability; Follow-up meeting on the Reserves, Reserve Force Council and related matters; Consideration of Minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform,18:15-21:00

FRIDAY, 20 MAY 2022

Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, (National Assembly), [Further deliberations on the Electoral Amendment Bill [B 1 – 2022]; Briefing by the Electoral Commission on the 2021 Local Government Elections Report], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Standing Committee on Appropriations, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Department of Police on the 2022 Appropriation Bill], Virtual Platform, 09:00-12:00

Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament, (National Assembly and National Council of Provinces), [Briefings by the South African Police Service, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, and the South African Heritage Resources Agency on progress made in respect of the investigation into the 2 January 2022 fire, and the restoration project], Virtual Meeting Platform, 12:30-15:30

Committees provide a platform for the public to present views directly to MPs. Share your thoughts, on the ground experience and expert information with the relevant committees. Critically, what questions should MPs pose to the Executive as they conduct their oversight work? Write to a Parliamentary Committee.

View the schedule page here. View the provincial legislature's schedule here.

*This summary is based on the schedule as it is published on Monday morning. The programme is subject to frequent updating so the link above needs to be checked daily to confirm the programme for the day.

People's Assembly aims to connect the public to their elected representatives. One way of doing so is through our Replocator tool, which allows you to search for the elected representative in your area.

Comments

Keep comments free of racism, sexism, homophobia and abusive language. People's Assembly reserves the right to delete and edit comments

(For newest comments first please choose 'Newest' from the 'Sort by' dropdown below.)