Coming Up: Questions for Oral Reply to the President, Debate on challenges facing South African Airways, National Council of Provinces Provincial Week and 33 Meetings of Committees
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will be conducting provincial visits this week, focusing on education and health care services.
Provincial Week is a regular activity of the NCOP involving Permanent Delegates returning to their provinces to carry out oversight visits on specific issues.
The National Assembly (NA), meanwhile, will receive replies from President Jacob Zuma to questions for oral reply. The President usually answers questions for oral reply in the NA at least once a quarter during session time within the annual Parliamentary programme. After the question and answer session with the President, the NA is scheduled to debate the challenges facing South African Airways. The Economic Freedom Fighters proposed the debate as an urgent matter and is expected to lead the debate.
Committee meetings this week are mainly limited to NA Portfolio Committees because of NCOP involvement in Provincial Week. The agendas of the 33 scheduled committee meetings include:
Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act of 2004
Wednesday – Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of Powers and Privileges Act will receive presentations from Parliamentary Legal Services on minority judgment in Democratic Alliance versus Speaker of National Assembly and others matter and on review of the Act
Environmental issues
- Tuesday – Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs colloquium on South Africa’s hosting of CITES COP17 Conference (17th Conference of the Parties to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
- Wednesday – Update on implementation of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 Conference Paris Agreement: INDC’s (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution’s) climate response measures, adaptation and mitigation scenarios
- Thursday – Briefing to Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs from Department of Environmental Affairs on rationale for granting extension for submission of Industry Waste Plans and the implications of this extension
Broadband roll out
Tuesday – Briefing by the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services and entities to the Portfolio Committee on Posts and Telecommunications
Broadcast Digital Migration Project
Thursday – Briefing to proposed joint meeting of Portfolio Committee on Posts and Telecommunications and Portfolio Committee on Communications
Integrated Energy Plan
Tuesday – Update on Integrated Energy Plan from Department of Energy to Portfolio Committee on Energy
Gender-based budgeting
Tuesday - Briefing to Portfolio Committee on Women in the Presidency by National Treasury on gender mainstreaming within National Treasury, allocation of funding to Department of Women in the Presidency and Commission for Gender Equality and gender-responsive budgeting Wednesday – Briefing from Treasury to Joint Multiparty Women’s Caucus on VAT exemption on sanitary towels and gender based budgeting
Company compliance issues
Friday – Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry holds joint meeting with Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and South African Revenue Service (SARS) for greater cooperation to overcome compliance issues; Committee will also engage with CIPC on outstanding performance and budget issues and with SARS on required tax information from companies regarding e-filing
Bills and public hearings
Tuesday – Public hearings and submissions on Border Management Authority Bill by Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
Tuesday and Friday – Standing Committee on Finance deliberates Financial Sector Regulation (“Twin Peaks”) Bill
Wednesday – Standing Committee on Finance holds public hearings on draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill and Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill
Preparations for oversight visit to Mpumalanga
Tuesday - National Department of Public Works to brief the Portfolio Committee on Public Works on overview of the province and support provided to it by national department
SACMEQ IV Report and state of readiness for 2016 examinations
Tuesday - Department of Basic Education to brief Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) IV Report; state of readiness for 2016 examinations; Committee to consider and adopt its revised report on Department’s Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan
Poor performance challenges in North West and Northern Cape related to Urban Settlements Development Grant, informal settlements upgrading, eradicating backlog in issuing of title deeds, affordable rental – social housing and gap housing market
Tuesday – Department of Human Settlements and the provincial departments of North West and Northern Cape to brief Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements on these issues
Budgets, programmes, performance and progress reports
- Tuesday – Minister of Trade and Industry to brief Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on Department’s 2015/2016 Annual Report and first quarter financial and non-financial performance
- Tuesday – Briefings from Economic Development Department on fourth quarter Performance and Expenditure Reports 2015/2016 and first quarter Performance and Expenditure Reports 2016/2017 to Portfolio Committee on Economic Development
- Tuesday – Standing Committee on Appropriations hearing with Department of Basic Education on its fourth quarter expenditure patterns for 2015/2016 financial year and first quarter 2016/2017
- Tuesday – Briefing from Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on first quarter performance and expenditure report 2016/2017 to Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
- Tuesday - Briefing to Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation from Boxing SA on governance and financial performance of Boxing South Africa for 2015-16 financial year and progress on promoters’ association disputes in Eastern Cape; Committee’s report on Sport and Recreation SA’s fourth quarter performance
- Wednesday – Briefing from Sport and Recreation SA (SRSA) to Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation on SRSA first quarter for 2016/2017 financial year; preparations for international youth camp and indigenous games; state of readiness for national school sports games in December; report on performance of Team SA at Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016
- Wednesday – The Standing Committee on Public Accounts will receive a briefing from the Anti-Corruption Task Team and the South African Revenue Service
- Wednesday – Briefing to Portfolio Committee on Posts and Telecommunications and discussion on National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (Nemisa) first quarter performance reports; briefing by Special Investigating Unit on all investigations in the Portfolio
- Wednesday – Briefing from Department of Higher Education and Training to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training about latest developments in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Community Education and Training (CET)
- Wednesday – Briefing to Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry from National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) on its annual report 2015/2016 and first quarter financial and non-financial performance for first quarter 2016/2017; engagement with the NRCS on outstanding matters
- Wednesday (morning) – Standing Committee on Appropriations holds hearing with Department of Health on its fourth quarter expenditure patterns for 2015/2016 financial year and first quarter 2016/2017
- Wednesday (afternoon) – Standing Committee on Appropriations holds hearing with Department of Water and Sanitation on fourth quarter expenditure patterns for 2015/2016 financial year and first quarter 2016/2017
- Wednesday – Portfolio Committee on Social Development hold follow-up meeting with Department of Social Development on its presentation of its second quarterly financial and performance report 2015/2016 (July – September 2015); receives briefings from Department on its quarterly financial and performance report for 205/2016 financial year (October – December 2015) and its quarterly financial and performance report for 205/2016 (January – March 2016)
- Thursday – Standing Committee on Appropriations hold hearing with National Treasury on its fourth quarter expenditure patterns for 2015/2016 financial year and first quarter 2016/2017 Standing Committee on Appropriations hold hearing with Department of Public Works on its fourth quarter expenditure patterns for 2015/2016 financial year and first quarter 2016/2017
- Friday – Standing Committee on Appropriations holds hearing with Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services on its fourth quarter expenditure patterns for 2015/2016 financial year and first quarter 2016/2017
