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 when the President would pay back the money for the upgrades at his Nkandla residence as recommended by the Public Protector. The EFF then ignored rulings by the Speaker to leave the House and riot police were called in.

Parliament has already reacted swiftly and announced that there will be tighter security measures from today to prevent future chaotic scenes. Second, the legislature has appointed a committee to review the incident and recommend possible disciplinary action in terms of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.

The sanctions under section 12 of the Act, range from a formal warning to a suspension, with or without remuneration, for a period not exceeding 30 days.

On a broader level, there are questions being asked about decorum, the role of Speaker, parliamentary accountability, and whether the rules of the legislature are adequate. The National Assembly (NA) will discuss the downgrade of the country’s credit rating and the first quarter contraction in the gross domestic product on Tuesday.

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is scheduled to debate the provision of sanitation and the elimination of the bucket system. The Deputy President will reply to oral questions in the NCOP on Wednesday and both Houses will ask questions to Ministers in the Peace and Security Cluster (This includes the Minsters of Defence and Military Veterans, Home Affairs, International Relations and Cooperation, Justice and Correctional Services, Police and State Security).

Meanwhile, parliamentary committees continue with their business and these are some of the highlights for the week:

On Tuesday, the Minister of Communications will brief the Portfolio Committee on Communications on the Public Protector Report on the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Opposition parties are particularly vexed about the appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as COO of the SABC and have questioned why the Minister had seemingly ignored the Protector’s report.

The controversial immigration regulations will come under the spotlight when the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs meets with the Department. The Department has not yielded to pressure from detractors to water down or delay the regulations.

MPs will hear from the Department of Energy and the SA Local Government Association (SALGA) on the Integrated National Electrification Programme.

On Wednesday, National Treasury will brief the Standing Committee on Public Accounts about unauthorised expenditure in the Departments of Trade and Industry, Presidency and Home Affairs.

The Department of Water and Sanitation will inform legislators about the water pricing strategy and proposed water tariff increases.

On Friday, the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry will conclude its colloquium on beneficiation, which had started on Tuesday.

On the legislative front, the Justice and Correctional Service Committee will conduct public hearings on the Legal Aid Bill and the Attorneys Amendment Bill. The Finance Committee will also carry out its hearings into the Draft Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill and the Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill.

DA MP, David Maynier has introduced a Private Members Bill – the Defence Amendment Bill - and will present this to the Defence and Military Veterans Portfolio Committee. The Department will be given an opportunity to respond to this.

See full list of meetings here.

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