The Week Ahead: Term 1 Ends With Motions of No Confidence

The constituency period beckons, with MPs due to sign off at the end of the week and resume on 19 April 2022.

There is no opportunity to go through the motions as a fair amount of heavy-duty business will be done before they go.

The main point of interest will be Wednesday’s debates on two motions of no confidence: the first in the President (sponsored by the ATM and in terms of section 102 (2) of the Constitution) and the second in the Cabinet (sponsored by the DA and in terms of section 102 (1) of the Constitution).

The National Assembly Speaker declined requests from both parties to hold a secret ballot for their respective motions. Both motions will be done by way of an open voting system.

The ATM's attempt to rescind this decision was heard at the Western Cape High Court early on Monday, 28 March 2022. The urgent application was struck down by the High Court. The party can withdraw or proceed with the motion. [Update: the party has written to the Speaker to postpone the motion until the courts have heard the matter].

Because of this, a postponement of the vote or overruling of the Speaker’s decision are possible.

Beyond this, Oral Questions to the Deputy President is the only item on Thursday’s National Assembly sitting. Some of the stand out questions are about Eskom and COVID-19.

View Questions

Elsewhere, the National Council of Provinces delegates will spend the week in their respective provinces as part of Provincial Week. Provincial Week, Local Government Week, Taking Parliament to the People, Committee Oversight Week and various sectoral parliaments, form part of the legislature’s plan to mainstream public participation programmes. The overarching theme for this week is: “assessing state capacity to respond to the needs of communities”. The delegates will be joined by their counterparts from provincial legislatures, Premiers, the Local Government Association (SALGA), Mayors, the public and other relevant stakeholders.

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation is convening a colloquium – on Tuesday - on the institutional autonomy of public higher education institutions. According to the committee, “the objective of the colloquium is to engage with all stakeholders on the concept of institutional autonomy, aimed at strengthening institutions of higher learning by harnessing a healthy relationship between institutional autonomy, academic freedom and public accountability”.

A parliamentary delegation will take part in the 60th Session of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly and the 41st Session of the ACP-EU JPA to be held in France from 29 March until 3 April 2022.

There are several interesting meetings scheduled in the Committee corridor. Below are the highlights:

TUESDAY, 29 MARCH 2022

Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, (National Assembly), [Tabling and discussions on the Committee 1st draft report on the fuel price increases], Virtual Meeting Platform, 9;00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Transport, (National Assembly), [Deliberations on the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill [B 7 – 2020]: Feedback from the Parliamentary Legal Adviser and the State Law Adviser on the draft list of amendments to the Bill]; Virtual Meeting Platform, 9:00-13:00

Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) on their distribution of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme funds(PESP); Briefing by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture on their wellness programme tender awarded to Indingliz Advertising and Marketing] Virtual Meeting Platform (09:00-13:00)

Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, (National Assembly), [Consideration of the Expropriation Bill [B23-2020] clause by clause], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Department of Water and Sanitation on the Progress Report on finalisation of interventions in respect of the Vaal River Water Project and Giyani Water Project.] (09:30-13:00)

Standing Committee on Public Accounts, (National Assembly), [Hearing on the annual report and financial statements of the Passenger Rail of South Africa (PRASA), for the financial year 2020/21, as well as irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.] Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30 – 13:00

Committee for Section 194 Enquiry, (National Assembly), [Briefing by Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Services Office (CLSO) on litigation relating to the Enquiry; Briefing by Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Services Office (CLSO) on appointment of Evidence Leader]. Virtual Meeting Platform, 14:00

WEDNESDAY, 30 MARCH 2022

Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, (National Assembly), [Consideration of the Expropriation Bill [B23-2020] clause by clause], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Portfolio Committee on Police, (National Assembly), [Deliberations Clause by Clause on the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill [B25 – 2021]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Select Committee on Public Enterprises and Communication, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies on its revised 2021-2022 Annual Performance Plan], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:00-19:30

FRIDAY, 1 APRIL 2022

Portfolio Committee on Police, (National Assembly), [Adoption of Committee report on the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill [B25 – 2021]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-11:00

Committees provide a platform for the public to present views directly to MPs. Share your thoughts on the ground experience and expert information to 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 page 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.

MPs have a Constitutional duty to interact with the public and assist the public with access to basic services. One way in which this interaction is carried out is through Constituency Offices.

NA CONSTITUENCY PERIOD: 4 – 14 APRIL NCOP CONSTITUENCY PERIOD: 4 – 18 APRIL

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