The Week Ahead: Debates, Questions & Committee Scrutiny

The endgame of the current parliamentary year is fast approaching. There are only five weeks left before Parliament rises and loose ends are gradually being knitted together.

The main excitement in the NA chamber is the discussion on the nationalisation of banks without compensation. The topic was put forward by the leader of the EFF and will almost certainly guarantee passionate exchanges. In a document released earlier this year, the party said that the state must nationalise all private banks through taking a minimum of 60% ownership and control of all existing private banks. Their proposal further states:

• All banks, including private banks, must be given concrete developmental and job creation mandates, particularly in the provision of housing and small and medium enterprise development

• All banks must be democratically administrated, fight illicit financial flows and corruption and pay its employees decent salaries

• All banks must employ, in management level, a minimum of 50% black people and 30% women.

The other big event this week is the Oral Reply Session with Ministers in the Governance Cluster. Many of the questions touch on bread and butter issues. The stand out questions are about debt owed by municipalities to Eskom, customary initiation practice, sanitary pads and gender-based violence.

Beyond this, the plenary agenda is filled with the usual items: legislative business, motions, statements, processing of statutory appointments, statutory instruments and Committee Reports.

Elsewhere, the major highlights in the NCOP chamber are the three scheduled debates:

• Debate on the proliferation of unlawful deductions by credit providers and employers

• Debate on Taking Parliament to the People – Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Report

• Debate on the annual address by the President of the RSA to the NCOP: “Deepening unity in action for inclusive growth and Africa’s Renewal – reclaiming the legacy of OR Tambo”

See the plenary programme here

The Committee corridor is again the site for most of the parliamentary activities. There are almost 50 meetings scheduled and an impressive array of Cabinet Ministers are expected to make appearances in several Committee meetings. Here is a rundown of the highlights:

The Ad Hoc Committee on the Funding of Political Parties has arranged two full days (Tuesday and Wednesday) of public hearings on the Draft Political Party Funding Bill. Earlier in the lawmaking process, we got a glimpse of some of the sticking points and key issues that will be raised at the hearings. This includes the validity of the 90/10 split in public funding and whether it is in line with the intention of the Constitution to provide for both proportionality and equity. The role of foreign donations and investment arms of political parties are two other points that are expected to be raised sharply.

The Department of Basic Education will present its school readiness preparations for 2018. The presentation is expected to focus on Admissions and Registrations, School Management Planning, Teacher Provisioning, Learning and Teaching Resources, Basic Infrastructure and School Transport. Previously, DBE reported that it has made significant progress in streamlining admissions however, migration remains the main challenge particularly in provinces like Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

The SABC will brief MPs on its Second Quarter Performance for 2017/18. Just last week, SABC staff workers went on strike to demand higher wages. In a City Press Opinion Piece, the SABC Board Chairperson wrote: “the inescapable reality is that this recent period of chronic governance failure has led the SABC down a road of huge losses and massive debts. As will be presented to Parliament this week, in the SABC’s second quarter report, mismanagement by previous SABC boards and executives has left a significant hole in the Corporation’s finances and it will take us time to move the dial in a different direction”.

The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will meet with the Department to discuss the implementation of the Small scale Fisheries Policy including progress on addressing matters that have been raised by small scale fishers. They have been at loggerheads with the Department for some time about its policy, arguing that it will not bring about socio-economic change because a lot of the resources are allocated to the commercial sectors and have effectively tied these resources up for years to come.

Another interesting-looking meeting is the briefing by the Department of Environmental Affairs on the applications for postponement to comply with the minimum emission standards (MES) by the industry.

Last week, SCOPA and the Portfolio Committee on Social Development held a joint meeting with National Treasury, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the SA Post Office (SAPO) to get feedback on the mediation process which was initiated after a deadlock had been reached regarding the plan to phase out the Cash Paymaster System and phase in a new grants payments system. The joint committee expressed frustration at the little progress made to overcome the deadlock and gave the parties until today (06 November 2017) to finalise the review of the Post Office’s capabilities to implement and manage the national payment system of social grants. The joint Committee will meet on Wednesday to adopt a Report that will be tabled before the National Assembly on the outcomes and the resolutions taken by the Committee in an effort to assist in reaching a solution that will be to the benefit of the country.

Quietly but importantly, the Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings continues examining undertakings made by the Executive. This week it will look into the promises made by the Health and Human Settlements Ministers in 2015.

The mini-budget theme continues with the Public Service Commission briefing the Standing Committee on Appropriations on the 2017 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.

The South African Medical Research Council will brief legislators on research done in South Africa on violence, peace, injury and on HIV prevention. In addition, they will hear from the Department of Water and Sanitation on the Water Master Plan and Economic Regulator for Water.

Last month, the SA Farmers Development Association briefed the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry about challenges facing emerging sugarcane farmers the sugar industry. Amongst others, it cited relatively high inputs costs (chemicals and seeds) and lack of access to markets.

On Friday, the Committee will have a follow-up meeting and has invited other stakeholders to participate in the proceedings.

It's also a week for detailed legislating, with Committees dealing with the following bills: Division of Revenue Amendment Bill, Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill, Committee Bill dealing with Debt Relief, Labour Laws Amendment Bill, Foreign Service Bill and Communal Property Associations Amendment Bill.

See full schedule here

*Note: The schedule is subject to frequent changes and needs to be checked daily.