The Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Max Sisulu, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Mninwa Mahlangu, will lead a Parliamentary delegation on a five-day visit to India on Saturday 7 July.
India’s partnership with Africa extends beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) and includes other sub-groupings that also operate in the context of Africa. These include the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) and continental India-Africa summit processes.
During the visit to strengthen relations with the Indian legislature, Mr Sisulu will also deliver the second Nelson Mandela International Day Annual lecture on Tuesday. The inaugural lecture, in 2011, was delivered by Mr Ahmed Kathrada, a friend of Mr Mandela and a stalwart of the struggle against apartheid who spent just over 26 years in prison, 18 of them on Robben Island.
The visit by Mr Sisulu and Mr Mahlangu, the first of its kind to India by our democratic Parliament, is aimed at exchanging information and experiences about strengthening the role of Parliaments and enhancing the working together of the two legislatures in multilateral bodies and bilateral relations between South Africa and India.
Parliaments are increasingly required to strengthen particularly their oversight role. Committees from both legislatures could serve as the vehicles to drive interaction between the two institutions on identified areas of cooperation and monitoring of agreements between our two governments.
Parliament would also be interested in sharing experiences about amending the national budget, and about training and development.
The Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act of 2009 (Act No.9 0f 2009) provides for a procedure to amend money bills before Parliament. This includes the national budget, which, until the Act was passed, Parliament could either approve or reject – but not amend. In May, Parliament’s Presiding Officers appointed a seconded official from the Development Bank of South Africa to establish the Parliament Budget Office, the vehicle mandated to advise Parliament on money bills, such as the national budget.
The Indian Parliament has been able to amend money bills, like the national budget for some time.
Another area to be explored would be the training college on parliamentary practice which the Parliament of India established in 1976. It would be of value for our Parliament to understand how the training college operates and how it assists in training and development of both Members of Parliament and staff.
For inquiries, please contact:
Estelle Randall
Cell: 076 027 2181
Tel: 021-403 8195
