The Week Ahead: Women’s Day & Zama Zamas Debate

Parliament is taking full advantage of the public holiday. It has scheduled a fairly light but eclectic programme.

On Wednesday, the NCOP will hold a debate to commemorate Women’s Day. In keeping with previous speeches, lawmakers are expected to focus on the following themes in their speeches: mainstreaming gender equality, gender-based violence, gender budgeting and women’s representation in politics.

Thursday’s ministerial briefing session is a highlight given the national attention and debate around illegal mining “zama zamas”. According to experts, this criminal activity has reached unprecedented levels and is negatively affecting surrounding communities.

The session will see delegates come together with Ministers (Mineral Resources and Energy, Police and Home Affairs) and provincial MECs to hear about their plans to address illegal mining and restore law and order in the affected communities.

Ministerial Briefing Sessions are a regular feature of the NCOP’s programme. They serve as a platform for the Executive and provinces to discuss and highlight national and provincial perspectives on issues.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly Speaker’s decision to refer the African Transformation Movement's motion to set up an inquiry into the Phala Phala saga to an independent panel is still reverberating and we can expect more reaction.

Parliament states that: “the function of the independent panel is to conduct a preliminary assessment of the proposed motion, and in so doing, must in terms of Rule 129G, make a recommendation to the Speaker within 30 days, whether sufficient evidence exists to show the President committed any of the violations specified in the motion”.

The Speaker has requested all political parties represented in the NA to nominate candidates to serve on the Panel by 1 September.

Elsewhere, National Assembly lawmakers still have another week of constituency work before they resume term three.

These are the highlights in the Committee Corridor:

WEDNESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2022

Select Committee on Appropriations, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by National Treasury and Department of Human Settlements on the Informal Settlements Upgrading Grant], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-12:00

Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Electoral Commission on the outstanding matter on the Electoral Amendment Bill; Further deliberations on the outstanding matters on the Electoral Amendment Bill], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00

Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure South Africa on the national infrastructure management strategy, and the progress report on the roll-out of the infrastructure investment plan and number of projects that have been signed off], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-13:00

Select Committee on Security and Justice, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by the Ministry of Police and the South African Police Service on the public comments to the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill [B25-2021] (National Assembly – sec 75); Oversight to Free State preparation briefing: Free State Provincial Commissioner to brief the Committee on the state of police services in Free State Province], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-13:00

Committee for Section 194 Enquiry, (National Assembly), [Hearing: identified witness to appear before the Committee], Hybrid Meeting (Virtual Meeting Platform and Committee Room M46, Ground Floor, Marks Building), 10:00-17:00

THURSDAY, 11 AUGUST 2022

Committee for Section 194 Enquiry, (National Assembly), [Hearing: identified witness to appear before the Committee], Hybrid Meeting (Virtual Meeting Platform and Committee Room M46, Ground Floor, Marks Building), 10:00-17:00

FRIDAY, 12 AUGUST 2022

Committee for Section 194 Enquiry, (National Assembly), [Hearing: identified witness to appear before the Committee], Hybrid Meeting (Virtual Meeting Platform and Committee Room M46, Ground Floor, Marks Building), 10:00-17:00

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 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.

During the constituency period, MPs have a duty to: be available to the public, help solve problems and report back to their constituents on what is happening in Parliament. The NA constituency programme runs from 13 June 2022 to 15 August 2022.

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.)